The Beginning of Mrs X: Where Power Resides
by Pukka Meadows
Summary: "She thinks of home, the red door pops into mind, along with the spring flowers blossoming in the bushes outside, the gentle whisper of the wind and her sister and brother. And she knew that wasn't what he wanted." Power is a curious thing, it resides where you believe it resides. Except, none of them believed in the small girl who wanted home. C/OC/E. Set in first class.
1. Prologue

_"It doesn't attack the cells, Erik, it enhances them!"_

_Her body's on fire. _Or at least she thinks it is.  
Someone's speaking to her, they're begging her to keep her eyes open. As if she was going to close them, she was too busy searching for the missiles. Wondering if she had stopped Erik setting them off or if he was still in his rampage.

She's in agony. Her head feels as if it's being smashed over and over again by a rock. The sudden pains in her chest makes it difficult to breathe, her breathing now comes out in short laboured rasps. A thin veil of sweat has broken out across her body. Tears start to roll down her face because of the pain. Another jolt of agony goes through her, her body spasms in response. A pair of arms hold her down as she jerks about, she digs her nails deep into their arms as it passes. Just as she thinks it's finished, just as the pain stops, just as the voices in her head are silenced, something snaps. Her hands instantly yank at her own hair. She cries out and starts to wither on the floor. If she felt like it, she could make every single person on this beach go insane with her. If she's going down she might as well drag them to hell alongside her.

_'It enhances the cells' _She can feel it already. She had always been the weakest. Maybe now she could become more powerful than anyone else. Or maybe Hank was wrong, maybe it only enhanced his cells not hers. Maybe Erik got what he wanted. Maybe it would kill her. Maybe she should die.

She has seen the future. What lies ahead of them. In the distant future she will become a weapon. Not against humans, but against her own kind. _Her family._

She thinks about the impending doom as she hears someone shout. Then bullets are fired. As the bullet pierced his skin, her mouth opened.

And then she starts to scream.

* * *

_**Trailer - **_ watch?v=SiK-Fd-zp3M&amp;list=UUzQhOX8DB1OmhjatIbwgqfA__

Hey guys, new story! It's 3 am in the morning so I'm gonna keep this short, this is a filler chapter for the beginning. It's the prologue. There will be a lot more writing in future chapters.

Also I have not given up on my other Les mis fanfic, tons of stuff has been happening lately and I have been busy.

**_To review or not to review... idc I'll still update._**

_By the way, there won't be many updates from Monday to Friday because of Exams, however from friday onwards I'm free._


	2. Are you lonesome tonight?

I do not own the X-Men franchise and neither do I own any of the songs, books or any other references made in this story. My only right to this story is the character of Emilia (which is not an adaptation of the actress Emilia Clarke), her family (who are not based on anything/anyone), and future characters that may pop up that do not belong in the Marvel universe.

* * *

_"Honey, you lied when you said you loved me_  
_And I had no cause to doubt you."_

_**Elvis Presley, **__**"Are You Lonesome Tonight?"**_

* * *

**February 1961**

'Former Nazi's murder causes shock outbursts 15 years after WW2!'

The bold headlines seemed to glare up at her. The black and white pictures of the deceased were spread across the page.

"Scum!" A man with a potbelly had bellowed earlier on as he read the same article. "They should be thanking the man who did him in!"

Uncomfortable with its gaze, Emilia pushed the newspaper away from her as her eyes wandered around the stuffy bar.

Streamers ran from the ceiling, balloons bounced around the tables and a birthday banner hung on the wall behind her. She noticed that the young chubby boy that had asked her to dance earlier was stuffing his face with the birthday cake. Crumbs and icing masked his mouth. When he noticed her staring he stopped licking the icing off his fingers and sent a wink her way.

She hoped that he didn't gain diabetes after his eighth slice.

When she had pictured her first time in London, she'd seen historic landmarks and the endless road of possibilities surrounding her.

Instead she got a fat kid stealing her slice of cake.

But, the excited buzz did not leave. She still hoped for her idea of London to come true. The nerves that had crawled up into her stomach were drowned out by the music surrounding her and the out of tune 'singing'.

She had a secluded childhood, having grown up in Wales she was never taken anywhere apart from there. Her parents had refused to take both her and her siblings anywhere that was beyond a ten mile radius.

'You've got your books, we even got a Tolkien for you last week! What's wrong with wanting to stay at home?' They would ask, 'Nothing,' she would always think. 'Staying at home is fine. That is until you reach a mid-life crises and realise that you've wasted half of your poor life doing nothing.'

A bit like old Ma' Davies who lived next door. An ancient, boring and critical lady who had the excuse to come over for Christmas dinner each year because of her widowed state.

'You need to find yourself a husband Emilia.' The old hag had once reminded her for the seventh time a previous winters evening.

'Oh no,' Emilia had replied with a forced smile. 'I just need my books.'

So when her friend Cerys had asked if she wanted to spend a weekend away with friends for her birthday, she just had to accept.

There was no reason Emilia couldn't go, she was twenty years old and could do what she liked.

Although, her mum had tried to scare her into not going. She said that she'd get lost on the streets and then kidnapped by a gang of men who take girls abroad to she'd be forced to marry a man three times her age who would then force her into carrying his children. Which would end with the other local men killing both her and her new-born by throwing rocks at them for birthing a daughter instead of a son.

"I do believe that you're making that up." She had told her mother while she packed. Her father hadn't made the situation any better.

"Oh don't be a daft cow they don't throw rocks… I hear that they drown them in milk." In fact, it scared her mother more than it did Emilia and lead to her having a panic attack in the living room.

So there she was, alone in a crowded room, surrounded with home-made banners and party hats that didn't belong to her.

"How many more slices do you think it'll take before he brings it back up?" Cerys' aunt with the wild hair had noted the missing half of cake.

"Ten," Emilia replied. "I say ten slices."

"Twelve slices and I'll bet you three black jacks?"

"Done."

Within in the next five minutes the boy sprinted out of the room and into the toilet after his tenth slice. Emilia placed her palm out and was given her winnings.

Cerys and the others were dancing to whatever music came on. Emilia had danced to a few songs but had decided to stop when the pains growing in the soles of her feet became stronger.

Looking over at the bar, she noticed that there were three lone people in total. She looked back at her friends who were taking up most of the dance floor. They all attempted to sing along to an Elvis song at the top of their voices. Emilia departed the wooden table for the bar, it wouldn't take long to get a drink and they wouldn't notice her gone.

"Are you lonesome tonight?" The brunette hummed in a light tune to the song. "Do you miss me tonight?" Her friends wailed the next line.

"ARE YOU SORRY WE DRIFTED APART?'"

"Excuse me... hello?" After an unsuccessful five minutes with an unresponsive bartender, she gave up.

The young girl leaned on the counter and stared into the mirror opposite, waiting for the older man to notice her. She self-consciously examined her reflection.

Her dyed brunette hair had once been in a neat bun when they'd came, now parts fell down both sides of her face and the nape of her neck. Her hands quickly, but gently, smoothed down her plum coloured dress. Her mother had loaned Emilia her jeweled necklace, it winked around her throat. She looked down and made sure Cerys' heels weren't marked. Last time Emilia had marked a pair of shoes she had borrowed from her friend, Cerys refused to speak to her for an entire week. She hoped that wouldn't happen again. As she attempted to rub a few marks out of heels, a flash of silver caught her sight.

She turned to her right and saw a man of around thirty playing with an old coin. Except, he wasn't playing with it the way most people would.

Instead of the coin being moved between his fingers, it was floating above his hand. He made it roll above his knuckles, not letting it touch an inch of skin, then he twisted his hand around and let it fall down slowly on to his palm. He placed it down on the damp counter and it began to spin, all by itself, it went faster, faster and faster each time it revolved around until he slammed his hand down onto it, bringing to a halt, and making it lay immobile. He slid it from the table into his trouser pocket, grabbed his glass and stared straight at her.

Emilia quickly readjusted her glance at a suddenly peculiar and interesting wall tile as she pretended that she hadn't just been gawking what he had just done. Hesitantly, her eyes peeked back and saw him staring.

"He's calling you." The drinker informed her as he nodded his head towards to the annoyed bartender then taking a gulp of his drink. She looked up at the balding man and found that the look on his face was not at all friendly.

"Just a coke please." He nodded as he pushed himself away from the bar...leaving her alone with him.

"You don't drink?" The man on her right asked.

It had been a mistake looking up. She should have kept her head down and pretend that she didn't hear him. She should have continued reading the news clippings hung up in frames on the walls. It was a mistake by the fifth sentence in on the article to turn away.

Her cheeks burnt red as she met his eyes. The piercing gun metal blues sent shivers down her spine. He was handsome. The stranger was as beautiful as sin.

"Not when I'm with them." Emilia replied, a small smirk came as she nodded over to her friends. A shade of disappointment flickered across his face but she only saw a very small smile.

"Ah, I'm guessing that you're the responsible one then?" Meeting his eyes, she noticed that he too had also just been examining her.

"Someone has to."

A silence settled between them. He kept staring at her, waiting for her to back down and look away. So she awkwardly looked down at the bar and immaturely dipped her finger in the wet beads left from past drinks.

The pressure of his gaze weighed off her when the bartender planted her drink in front of her. After paying him, she glanced back at the man with the coin. His attention was now fixed on the pictures and article clippings hung above them. A nagging feeling began to eat at her.

_'He knows,'_ she thought to herself. _'He knows that you saw.'_

She took a straw from the bar, placed it in the coke bottle and took a sip. _'Ask him,'_ a curious side of her demanded. _'Ask him right now. Ask him if it was a magic trick, ask him before he asks you.'_ She counted the number of seats in between them. There were four. She'd sound ridiculous, she could imagine it in her head now.

_'Excuse me sir,'_ she'd say. _'But how did you do the floaty thing? You know the floaty thing which you were unaware of anyone watching you doing? Are you a magician? Are you part of a magic act? Or are you one of those freaks people are beginning to talk about?'_

She searched around the bar, they were now the only two seated. The coward part of her mind had then realised that she was actually contemplating going up to the stranger. What if he got offended and turned violent? What if she was imagining it? What if he laughed in her face? She should forget the entire thing happened.

She would have, if he hadn't suspiciously glanced at her and readjusted the collar on his turtleneck.

_'Leave!'_ The coward part shouted nervously. _'Leave and forget all about it! Oh for Christ's sake stop staring at him! You'll get in to trouble!'_ She noticed he had a habit of tapping his fingers. She couldn't look away, she was waiting, waiting to see the coin again.

_'He'll notice you if you keep on.'_ A brave voice spoke. _'Might as well ask before he does.'_

"How did you do that with your coin?" She spoke quietly but loud enough so only he could hear. Her hand continuously swirled the straw in a circle around the glass. He looked up from his drink, but not at her. Doing a full scan of the room, he still tapped his fingers against the bar.

"Do what?" He finally replied. Looking down at his half empty drink before meeting her. When he caught her eyes she had to look away for a second. He no longer had a welcoming smile on his face but that wasn't what frightened her. It was the look he gave her. It was a warning.

_'Shut up and walk away!'_ The coward part of her screamed silently. _'No, in fact just run!'_

Hurriedly, she found her voice.

"You made it float." The necklace she wore around her neck suddenly felt cold. He looked away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He brought his drink to his mouth and took a swig. The small girl paused for a moment, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Grabbing her drink, she strode over to him. When she was inches away she brought her drink down.

"I know what I saw." He leaned back and calmly readjusted his collar.

"Do you? Go on, entertain me." The bartender came past them, throwing a strange look their way. A cold silence filled the air between them until he was out of earshot. She then spoke only above a whisper.

"I don't know what it was that I saw but it was unnatural." He glanced at her lips before meeting her eyes. A smirk slowly marked his face.

"Oh you've got it all wrong."

He turned his body around to her and leaned in. He moved inch by inch until she could feel his warm breath on her face. She could tell that he'd been drinking here for a while.

"This dress," He hovered his hand over her chest and went to fiddle with the material. Emilia instinctively went to push him away but he swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist and forced her against him. She felt a shock go through her instantly as he grabbed her arm from pushing him away. "It isn't natural," He continued. "It's man made," His eyes then fell onto her chest. Her body shuddered and she bit down on her lip to stop from screaming for help. "That necklace you wear, that's also man made," He paused for a moment. He noticed that her breathing had picked up. Bringing his hand up, he stroked his pale thumb across the oval locket before setting it down.

She looked at her left hand he was holding in a captive lock. Her eyes became wide in horror.

The veins going from her wrist downwards were a sickening black, scarring her pale skin. It looked as if ink had been smudged all the way down her arm.

Then she thought her heart was going to burst out of her chest. Not only was her arm now fucked, but the metal chain on her necklace had slowly begun to twist around by itself. It came closer and closer to her throat each time it twisted.

"But this," He indicated a finger to his head. "Is beyond natural. Would you like to know the truth?" The chain became tighter against her fragile self by each passing second. "I could easily suffocate you right now if you don't stop asking questions." The chain was painfully pinching the skin on her neck, she peeked up and met his staggering eyes. She was scared. The look he wore in his eyes made her want to run and hide.

"Leave."

The brunette yanked herself out of his clutches, successfully this time, he let go of her waist and her necklace fell back into its place. She span away, not taking in her surroundings, and ambled forward two steps before colliding with someone.

Her heart skipped a beat from the surprise. Everything suddenly appeared to happen in slow motion. As the victim's drink began to spill all down her dress, most likely ruining it, Emilia saw the flash of silver again. It came zooming in out of nowhere and went straight into the middle of the older man's forehead. The large man fell instantly on collision to the ground and so did whatever had hit him.

People started to swarm around him, making sure he was alright. Her heart felt like it was in her throat and the sound of her pulse was all she could hear. She apologised profusely not really knowing what else to do. Someone grabbed at her hand and started to drag her away from the crowd. Emilia couldn't take her wide eyes away from the unmoving body crumbled on the floor until they had abandoned the room.

"Where are we going?" Cerys' blonde hair soared behind her as she turned.

"Toilets." As she let her friend haul her away, she felt something cold poke the back of her thigh repeatedly. Emilia peered down and saw that it was the wretched coin beating her. After realising that she was slowly becoming more and more insane by the second, she snatched it up and hid it in her purse until they reached the cubicles.

**-o-**

"Are you going to tell what that was about?" Cerys asked her as she attempted to dry off her dress. They'd been in the toilets for half an hour and had both concluded that:

A) She wasn't going to be wearing that dress ever again,

B) She should never be invited to any future social events,

And C) Emilia was never allowed to borrow shoes again from anyone, ever.

Emilia sighed facing the mirror.

"I told you already, I wasn't looking where I was going and then I just went straight into him."

"You sure nothing else happened?" Cerys sat between two of the sinks and held on tighter to the edge.

"Positive." Emilia lied as she pulled her hair out from the bun she was wearing earlier.

"Oh," Cerys started to swing her feet back and forth. "Bit weird though... how he just fell."

"Hmm," The shorter one replied as she fiddled with her hair. "I hope he's okay," Emilia's voice began to crack with guilt. "I should have stayed, I should have made sure he was okay."

Cerys jumped off from the sinks and went behind her.

"Shh," She comforted her, her hands automatically found their way to Emilia's shoulders. "You weren't helping anyone out there. Better off us be in here and let them do their thing out there." Her hands moved from her shoulders and went to the youngers hair. "He's unconscious, maybe it was a small fainting spell?" Cerys began to plait the Emilia's thick locks.

"A man of that size?" Emilia stared at Cerys in the mirror. Cerys shrugged in reply.

"It could happen."

"Emily will say that I spoiled everything."

"I won't listen to her."

_'You will,'_ Emilia wanted to say. _'You always listen to what Emily tells you.'_

"So," She wrapped the hair tie around the end of Emilia's side plait that she had just made. "Who was that guy you were talking to earlier?" Her throat still stung from the necklace.

"He's no one." A lie.

"Really? Didn't seem like just no one." Cerys' pale hand rested on Emilia's shoulder. She saw through the mirror that Cery's eyes were narrowed down at her.

"He wanted me to have a drink and I said no. I was too busy looking after you maniacs." Another lie.

Her smile didn't reach her eyes as she turned to the taller one. Cerys was a naturally pretty girl with smooth hair that Emilia had longed for. Her hair was always lightly curled and stopped a couple of inches below her shoulders. The front half of her hair was pinned back while the rest of the bottom was spread loose.

Emilia placed her hand on top of Cerys' which was resting on her.

"Go and see the others," Cerys started to protest. "Go! I'll meet you out there when I'm finished in here." Cerys hesitated for a moment, then took her hand away and started to walk to the door.

"Don't be long." She smiled back at Emilia. Emilia watched her until she left. Only when she heard the bang of wood signifying the door shutting, did she look away.

Emilia leaned forward against the toilet sinks and stared at the mirror. Her make-up had smudged around her eyes. Promising herself to re-do it when she could actually be bothered, she brought her purse onto the counter and snatched the coin out. Her palms started to sweat just by looking at it. _'Why are you so nervous?'_ She asked herself. _'It's just a coin.'_

But it wasn't just a coin. It was an old one, a very old one, but that wasn't what scared her. It also wasn't what made her clamp her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out.

She had grown up with the sign as a child, a sign that had scarred nations. She remembered the newspaper she had read earlier, the one with the sign on the flag, the one with the dead men. Dead Nazi men. It was a Nazi coin.

Suddenly there wasn't enough air in the female toilets. She tried to steady her breathing. She closed her eyes and rested her head in her left hand.

_'If I'm found with this coin they'll lock me up,'_ she thought, clutching the coin in her right hand. _'They'll put me down for treason and then in a mental institution for saying that it floated towards me.'_

The weight in her right hand felt lighter. Emilia raised her head and saw that the coin was in mid-air. It hovered in front of her for a couple of moments before soaring towards the wooden door. The coin froze in front of it, delicately nudging the paint which was peeling off.

_'Maybe it wants you to open it?'_

Hesitantly, she took baby steps towards it. When she opened the door, her thick plait tumbled over her shivering shoulder as Emilia peeked her head out. Thankfully no one was there. The coin zoomed past her into the hallway, leading her away from foul smelling cubicles. Nervously, the small girl had followed the coin down the hall. She held her breath in anticipation as she turned the corner.

On the opposite side of the hallway stood the man from earlier. He stood facing Emilia's direction, his startling eyes seeped into hers. The coin started to move faster towards him, he raised his hand out and it fell into home in his palm.

"You know," For the first time she noticed a slight accent as his fingers played with the coin. "You never told me your name."

"Neither did you." She replied.

"Observant aren't you?" A smirk settled on his face. He allowed the horrid coin to flip in circles. When it had finished mid-air and was about to crash down, he made it stay afloat traumatising her even more. It then stayed there, bobbing up and down above his palm.

"Why did you hurt that man?" She asked in a whisper, too afraid to raise her voice.

"I didn't."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not," The coin fell and he pocketed it with ease. "Why are you?"

His question took her by surprise. She took a quick breath.

"What are you trying to say?" Her heart picked up the pace again.

"Did you he send you?" The dark haired stranger walked slowly towards her. "Did he tell you to find me?"

"What?" The hold she had on her purse became tighter. She took a step back away from him.

"Did Schmidt send you?"

"What's a Schmidt?" He stopped in his walk and raised an eyebrow.

"So he didn't send you?" She shook her head, still not understanding. Realising that he might have been wrong about her intentions, he explained what he presumed she didn't know. "I didn't hit that man with the coin. I didn't send it after you when you left, I didn't realise it had gone. I also didn't make it come back to me when you were walking down this hall." He took a couple steps forward, allowing there to be a suitable distance between them. "You," He pointed a lean finger at her. "Did all of that by yourself."

"No," Emilia shook her head in denial. "No I didn't."

"You did," He crossed four steps leaving only inches to guard her away from him. Standing before the tall man, she was tiny. "Deep down you know you did."

She closed her eyes, attempting to shield herself from the horror placed on her. Desperately, her head viciously turned against him as she shook her head in ignorance.

He placed his hands on her shoulders in comfort.

"Don't deny what you are."

"They'll think I'm a freak." What would her mother say? Would she be welcomed back with open arms? Or would she be scorned and chucked out into the streets?

"You are not a freak," He bent down to match her height and he searched into her eyes, trying to make her understand. "We are not freaks!" It seemed as though he was trying to convince himself more than her. "We're better than all of them."

"Are there others out there...like us?" Her curiosity got the better of her.

"I doubt it."

"What about those who don't want us around?"

"Yes, those people are out there."

"And you've met them?"

"Unfortunately."

**-o-**

He told her his ability was to control metal, he was convinced it was Emilia's as well. She didn't believe it. If her ability was to control metal, wouldn't she have known already? She didn't argue against him, not wanting to anger the man who had just previously choked her. He was suddenly kind and invited her to his hotel room. So he could help her of course, nothing more. She told him that her friends would worry and that she couldn't cause any grief. He replied saying that he'd already dealt with it. She raised an eyebrow and teased him:

"I don't even know your name." He smiled at her in a different way than he had in the few hours they had met.

"Erik Lehnsherr."

She grinned back. "Emilia Jones."

He taught her how to embrace her abilities. She broke pieces of his metal cutlery by twisting them into themselves, not that he minded. She broke one of his ornaments by making it float and accidently dropping it which resulted in it breaking in half.

When he kissed her, she ignored the forwardness and made the metal poles on the sides of the bed twist around and curl into each other. They had both stopped at the posts moving. She apologized profusely while he only laughed before facing her again.

Feeling brave, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Immediately, Erik responded with bringing her closer, and then presumed to pull her down onto the bed and later on, under the sheets with him as he tore off her dress.

That night, she had fallen asleep with her bare chest against his, listening to his heart race opposite her own.

**-o-**

Over the next two months she spoke to Erik more. She gave him her number to her own telephone, not her house phone. He'd ring her every Friday night when her parents were out. They would talk about everything, what she did that day, what he did, how she was dealing with things and mostly him asking when he could come see her next. He promised to see her on her birthday.

He kept his promise. He turned up at her door on the 4th of April with a bouquet of red tulips. She had thanked him with a shy kiss on the cheek and then told him to wait in the living room while she put them in a vase. When she returned he had asked where her parents were and she told him they were out the back with friends and family. Even though she would bring up a completely different subject, he would always change the conversation to her 'powers'.

_'It means he cares'_ she'd tell herself in annoyance.

"I've got something else for you," He said after announcing that he had to leave soon. He pulled out a small box from his trouser pocket and held it out for her. The pale girl took it slowly from his hand, she held it close to her as she opened it. It was a simple purple bead on a silver chain, she smiled to herself as she looked at it.

"It's beautiful," She met his eyes. "Thank you." He gave a nod in response as she asked him to help put it on. She pulled her hair up messily away from her neck, Erik took the necklace out of its violet box and lifted it over her head. He wrapped it around her throat and joined the two ends together. They stayed still for a moment, her fiddling with the bead between her fingers and him fiddling with the latch.

"Come with me?" His fingers brushed her bare upper back, making her shiver with delight.

"Where?"

"To Oxford, I'm moving there for work." Emilia span around.

"You never said-" He cut her off.

"It was a surprise."

"My parents-"

"Tell them what you are, if they care then they'll understand."

"I can't!"

"Come on Em', you know I'm not trying to tie you down, I'm just thinking that we both might have a life out there." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Together," He added after a few seconds. "Me and you together, don't you trust me?"

Erik gently rested one hand on the side of her cheek to comfort her. She stared at him for a while, thinking about what to do. He seemed to honestly want her with him. _'It's too soon!'_ A voice cried out in her head. _'You barely know him!'_

If she doesn't go with him he'd probably leave her. She didn't want to deal with her abilities alone. She'd be left here, all on her own, never knowing what her limit was. He was right. They could have a life together, he could be the place where she'd hide and feel safe. Her family cared, they would understand. They would understand, she'd make them understand.

Eventually, she nodded to him as his thumb gave a final stroke against her chin.

"I trust you."

Her mother had entered just minutes after he had left. The moment she had came in her eyes were instantly drawn to the tulips resting in the glass vase.

"Who are they from?" Her blonde hair was held high and did not hide the scowl on her face.

"I don't know, they were left by the door." Emilia was surprised by the amount of lies leaving her mouth recently.

"They're red." Her mother stated as she eyed them up. Emilia gave her a dumbfounded expression.

"Yes, yes they are."

"Did you know that red tulips represent love?" Emilia rolled her eyes at her mother's paranoid antics.

"No, but did you know that lavender Iris' symbolise distrust?" She held the bouquet given to her from a family member with a raised eyebrow. Her mother snatched the Iris' off her and put them out of sight in the corner of the room.

"I'm a florist Em' not an English teacher."

"Yes," Emilia concluded while she placed the Tulips in the middle of the dining room table for all to see. "And sometimes flowers are just flowers."

**-o-**

The hardest thing she ever had to do was going downstairs that night, going into the living room she had known her entire life and seeing her family's blank stares. She glanced over to her younger sister by two years and her brother by five years, they lounged on the green sofa next to her dad's big armchair. Her mother also had her own chair, it was pink and floral and made out of a material that went through and repulsed Emilia.

"I need to tell you something." Her attempt at sounding brave failed and her voice come out nervous and shaky. All of their eyes were on her. She clasped her damp hands in front of her.

"Emilia-" Her mum had begun. Emilia cut her off.

"Please let me speak." They were going to think that she was crazy. There were two possible outcomes to this, she'd either be accepted or she'd be chucked out. She had her bags by the door and Erik was waiting outside in case the latter happened.

"You know that I went to London two months ago-"

"You're pregnant aren't you?" Her mother cried out.

"No, no I'm not." She took a nervous breath before continuing. "Something happened when I was there," She took a step forward to the window sill opposite her. "It's best if I show you."

She focused on her dad's metal ship that stood proudly on the windowsill, she closed her eyes and raised her hands towards it. She tried to remember Erik's advice, but it had all left her underneath her family's stares. She heard her brother snigger at her. Taking a deep breath, Emilia envisioned the ornament coming towards her. She kept picturing it. _'Please let it work, please let it work.'_ She chanted repeatedly in her head.

Suddenly she felt a pull of energy in front of her, as if she was connected to it. She pulled her hand closer to her, trying to make the energy come towards her, like it was a rope. She didn't open her eyes until she heard her mother cry out.

"Stop it!" She started to shriek. "EMILIA GWYNETH JONES, YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" Emilia looked away, breaking her connection, and obediently put her hands down at her sides. She heard the ship go down onto the carpet with a thump.

Everyone was still.

Her father's pipe hung loose from his mouth as he gawked at the ship on the floor. Her sister, Bonnie, was staring open mouthed at her and her brother, Steffan, was now incredibly pale. A whimper came from her mother's mouth. Her face collapsed into her palms and she dashed away into the kitchen. Bonnie pushed herself up and rushed after her, red hair tumbling after her. Emilia turned to her father.

She spoke only to get a response.

"Your pipes falling out." He nodded to show he had heard her, still staring at the ship. A tragic sob resounded from the kitchen. Eventually he sighed and readjusted his pipe.

"Did you have to use my favourite ship Emilia?"

"I'm sorry," She moved forward to pick it up, the carpet began to painfully rub her bare knees in pain.

"Don't, don't bother." Emilia did what she was told and peered up at him from the floor. He was thinking. You could tell when her father was thinking, he'd smoke from his pipe, his eyebrows would be furrow together and he'd narrow his eyes down. Eventually, the pipe was taken away from his mouth but he refused to meet her eyes.

"That wasn't just a trick was it Emmy?" He used the little pet name that others had picked up over the many years. Emilia kneeled down by his armchair and shook her head in response. He gave a nod and put the pipe back in his tiring mouth.

Another stifled sob came from behind them, she went to turn around but he placed his hand on her cheek to stop her.

"Ignore her for a minute," Her father regarded her mother closely. "She's in shock." Sighing, he stared down at her, he studied her for a moment, searching for something to indicate if she was still his little 'Emmy'.

"I don't know what's going to happen now." He spoke honestly, which was a comfort to her. She lowered her eyes down to the floor.

She knew what she had to do. She doesn't want to leave, she wants to stay. She wants to stay in this small house, with the faded peach carpet and the china plates that hung high on the walls. With her family, with the people she belonged with, this is where she belonged.

_'No you don't,'_ A voice challenged the lie. _'You belong with your own kind.'_

If she stays, she loses Erik.

If she leaves, she loses her family.

If she stays, she loses the only connection to her 'kind'. If she stays she'll live out a mundane life, not knowing what else is out there.

If she leaves, she doesn't know when she'll come back, she'd risk forgetting them. If she leaves, they won't forgive her.

She's prepared to go out to Erik and tell him she can't go through with it. She would have, if she hadn't remembered the night she spent with Erik. She remembered what he had whispered when he had thought she was asleep.

_'I'm not alone.'_

She knew what needed to be done.

"I have to leave."

A cry of protest came from her mother, yelling at her father to stop her. He cringed hearing his name being shouted.

"Where to?"

"Oxford." A smirk made its way to his face ready to mock her.

"Oh yeah? And how do you plan to get there then?"

"My friend, he's like me. He's letting me stay with him." He exhaled and dropped his head into his hand on the armrest, he started to rub his forehead with early stages of forming wrinkles.

"Why Emmy? Why leave?"

"He'll be alone if I don't."

"Who cares about him?"

"I do!"

"You should be looking out for yourself!"

"I am! Don't you see? I'm not like the rest of you. I'm... I'm just different."

"If you stay-"

"I'll be all alone."

"Who cares about being alone when you can be safe, here, with us!" His voice raised at her.

"Don't you see?" Emilia hoisted herself up and pointed at her chest. "I'm not safe," She turned her hand around to him, letting her finger point daggers at him. "You're not safe around me!"

"Don't be daft."

"I'm not!" Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She reminded herself of a spoilt little brat.

"Emilia calm down."

"Why? So I don't make a scene? Why won't you realise that I'm a danger to you all!?"

"Emilia stop it!" His eyes latched onto the kitchen behind them. "We can talk this through once you've calmed down." Just as she went to retort back, her sister's howls filled the room. She whipped around to find her and an overwhelming feeling of guilt came crushing down.

In her annoyance and anger, she had unknowingly lifted all the metal cutlery from the kitchen into the air.

Including the sharp slicing knife.

Her sister's arm was covered in blood. Warm wet crimson began to fall down onto the floor thickly. When Emilia had realised what she had done, all the cutlery fell instantly to the floor. Luckily, none of them hit her family. Her mother quickly fussed over her sister and her father launched himself out of his chair over to his middle child.

"Bonnie I'm so sorry," Emilia went towards her. "I didn't mean it Bonnie, I didn't know." Her sister's short ginger hair fell onto her face, hiding her from Emilia. Bonnie glared up and gave her a horrific look. Emilia couldn't decide if it was a look of hatred or betrayal.

"Don't," Bonnie was crying fountains of tears. "Don't touch me!" Ignoring her, Emilia took a step towards her. Bonnie quickly stumbled back, attempting to protect herself.

"Bonnie please!" Emilia couldn't stop herself from gingerly padding towards her. Her sister's cries became hysterical, begging her to stay away.

"Go," Emilia's mother stepped in front of Bonnie, her blonde hair wildly falling into her face blocking her from sight. She was protecting her sister. Her mother's blue eyes glared down at her. "Leave Emilia." And Emilia walked away, out of the kitchen and into the hall.

_They hate you Em', they all hate you._

She put her coat on slowly, waiting to see if anyone would come out into the hallway to stop her. She took time tying the belt around her, still waiting. She rested her bag on her shoulder and grabbed her two suitcases. Just as she placed her hand on the door handle, she heard laboured breaths coming from the living room.

"Bonnie's having a panic attack." She turned around to see her brother behind her. He looked a lot like her. They had the same eyes that were a mix between blue and green. Brown hair hung loose and straight with both of them, except hers was considerably longer. They had the same length nose and that was where the similarities ended. They both took after their father, unlike Bonnie.

"Steffan-"

"You're really leaving us then?"

"Yes," She couldn't look at him anymore, guilt had begun to eat her up inside. She fixed her sight on her shoes. "I'll ring every Friday to talk to you and Bonnie."

"No you won't," She looked back up and saw that he was glaring at her. _'Not you,'_ she thought. _'Not you as well.'_

Did he hate her? Or was he just upset that she was leaving? Was he scared? Did he think she was a freak? Maybe he thought all of those things. Was this what Erik cost? Her family? If she hadn't arranged to leave with Erik but still told them what she could do, would they have reacted the same way? She didn't want to know.

Emilia began to memorise the small hallway she grew up in before she left. Her eyes settled on the photo hanging on the wall next to her. It was a photo of them all last year on Steffan's 15th birthday. They were all happy and smiling. She instantly found herself and Bonnie, arms happily wrapped around each other. Another wave of guilt hit as she met Bonnie's wide sapphire eyes. _'Don't hate me Bonnie,'_ she begged to herself. _'Please don't hate me.'_ Would the picture still be up tomorrow? Would it be put away in the attic, never to be seen again? Or would it be put to burn on the fireplace? Would they replace it with another picture? One with only two children instead of three?

"Just go Emmy."

She didn't need to be told again.

Instead of feeling ashamed over everything, she began to feel something different. She felt angry. Angry at how they didn't accept her, angry about how they treated her and angry at how her own mother hadn't even bothered. She slammed the door open and let it hit the wall of the house. She dragged her suitcases through the door, allowing them to bang against the radiators and everything else in its way.

The rain pelted down on Emilia's face as she marched away from the house, it came down heavier with every step she took. She saw Erik get out of his car and rush to open the boot for her things. She spotted the rusty red gate at the end of the front lawn.

_'When you go past that gate, there's no coming back'. _

She was halfway there. She could just hear Bonnie's cries over the rain. Was she crying for her to come back? Or was she crying in pain? Instead of opening the gate by hand, she decided to open it by her mind. She didn't close her eyes this time, she raised her right hand slightly towards it, feeling as the rope of energy fly from her hand and wrap itself around the gate, Emilia pulled her hand towards her and the gate opened instantly.

Erik jogged over and took one of the suitcases off her, she followed him to the boot where he took the other from her as well. She quickly scrambled into the car, away from the onslaught of rain.

She didn't look back at the house, not even when he got into the car and started to drive away. She pictured the house as she remembered it in summer. Pink and white flowers growing in baskets outside, the freshly painted red door and the red gate that always squeaked when you opened it. _'Home'_ She thought.

But it wasn't her home, not anymore.

**-o-**

She's now known as 'Orphan Girl'.

That's what they all say behind her back anyway. When she had first arrived with Erik he said that they needed a story for her living with him. It would give the wrong impression about her, he had said.

She agreed, she knew the stigma that came with a girl her age and a man of his to be living together unmarried.

The Emilia Jones that everyone had come to know in the apartment block did not remember much and never had a family. She had grown up on the poor side of 'Saint's Hollow' a small village she had made up which she had insisted was near Manchester. She had to work from the age of twelve when her father died to support her and her mother. The mother, who was as beautiful as Audrey Hepburn in Emilia's mind, had died eight years later. They told whoever asked that Emilia's mother had been Erik's older sister who had run away with Emilia's father at a young age. They said that Erik had went searching for his 'niece' the minute he had found out about his sister untimely death. He took her back to Oxford and she had never looked back to 'Saint's Hollow' again. No more underpaid working for her and no more loneliness for both family members.

The women that had heard the story from Erik's lips had called him hero for saving the desperate child. The women who had heard the tale from Emilia looked at her with pity. The next day they brought home baked cakes to their door. She got rid of her slight accent around the strangers and spoke with what she viewed as a standard English one.

The women with their floral aprons hadn't a clue that they were being mouth fed a lie. They were hens in a chicken farm and Emilia and Erik were the ones throwing the seeds.

Emilia had taken their gifts and nearly crumbled when she saw the 'Our Dearest Sympathies' cards in the bundles.

After a while the Orphan girl story became old news and she was left alone. They all still flustered and buzzed like bees around Erik, fluttering their eyelashes and puckering out their lips ever so slightly. She couldn't blame them, he had the same effect on her as he did on them. Late at night, when all those women were tucked into bed nice and safe, they were no longer part of a false story. He was her traveling man and she was his wildflower.

He hoped that in a short time she would begin to bloom.

**-o-**

She can't remember when exactly but one day Erik was gone.

In the two months she had lived with she had spent most days looking for jobs. She hadn't wanted to be a burden. After numerous interviews and even more 'We'll get in contact with you' laters, it started to hit her that maybe it hadn't been the best decision in moving there so fast. He worked from 8 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon doing God knows what. When he came back he shut himself in his office to continue doing 'work'. Afterwards, when she laid in bed trying to sleep, he'd come in even later and crawl on top of her. Willingly, she'd welcome him.

Because she was lonely. And that's how lonely people get over their problems... right? By relying on another being to make them feel something. And he made her feel something. The way her heart would flutter when he said her name, the way her stomach tied itself in knots and the way he made her feel in between the sheets was definitely something.

It might have been what therapists described as 'unhealthy' but she had no one else.

That was her excuse.

It was one day in June where spring had left and the summer items were being stocked up in good shops.

It was one day in June when she had gotten the job as a waitress in a local cafe. It was the most accomplished she had felt in her entire two months there.

It was one day in June when she had returned to an empty apartment.

Although he worked till five and it was only two o'clock, she knew something was off. He owned only two coats, both were no longer hung. The left corner of the rug in front of the door was overturned. That was strange as Emilia had cleaned the small hallway that morning and made sure that everything was neat and tidy.

Then it had hit her. It was painfully obvious as she noticed the painting missing on the wall to her right.

There had been a robbery.

But the lock hadn't been broken and surely someone would have noticed? She trudged her way into the living room, expecting it to be empty of all their possessions.

However, the living room had looked the same as it did hours ago.

Except, now there was a letter with her name on it alongside a pile of cash waiting for her on the couch. She opened it with fragile fingers not wanting to read what was inside. It was a note from him saying that he had to leave. Apparently he was searching for someone and it was too dangerous to bring her with him.

**_'Don't wait for me, I'm not coming back._**

**_Sincerely,_**

**_Your Erik.'_**

_'My Erik?'_ She had asked herself appalled. _'Who ends saying "I'm not coming back. Your Erik"?'_

As much as she wanted to hate him for leaving, she couldn't. He had swept her up and laid her down in a place where she had believed she belonged. Now, he had allowed her to break down into nothing… but 'Orphan Girl' had to carry on.

She was a stupid naive girl who had believed Erik Lehnsherr to be the greatest thing ever created and she loathed herself for it. She scrunched up the letter and threw it away.

She didn't what was more pathetic, her crying herself to sleep that night out of loneliness she felt or that she had to hold onto a childhood teddy bear to remind her of home.

**-o-**

The next morning Emilia went to his cupboard sized 'office' to see if he had actually been working in there for the past two months or if it was all just lies.

It was locked.

'What would 'Orphan Girl' do?' She asked herself. When she came to a conclusion she ripped a hair pin out and shoved it into the lock. Remembering what she had seen in a movie, she swivelled it around a little bit.

It remained locked.

Clueless, she brought herself up from her kneeling place and thought about what she was doing wrong.

That was when she heard the thumping on the wall that happened each Saturday. She opened the main door and saw the Johnston twins playing with their tattered football.

"Do either of you know how to pick a lock?" She asked in the faux English accent she had been made to learn.

"Depends," Said one, he kept his eyes on the ball hitting the wall. "We might know if you got the right change." She offered them sweets and chocolate instead of the money she didn't have. Before she knew it, they were in her hall picking her lock.

"The tricks in the wrist movement." The one on the right explained to her as she watched his brother.

"How do you even know how to pick locks?" She asked bewildered by the twelve year olds.

"Why do you have a lock on your cupboard door?" The one on the left retorted. She gave no reply.

When they had gone and the door was opened, she saw an empty room with a large map of the world hung on the wall. On the map opposite her, countries were circled and pieces of red string connected certain ones together. Her fingers reached out and followed one of the red dotted lines carefully. She did not dare to touch it as she knew she was not supposed to see what was held in the room.

It began at Poland which was surrounded by pictures of a concentration camp and Nazi soldiers. Some soldiers had morbid stamps marking them as 'Slain'. It went all the way through different countries that he had never mentioned he had been, and it went through them until it reached a photo of her.

She stilled, unable to take her eyes off herself at one of his 'work' meetings. She noticed that that the old Emilia in the picture seemed to be very happy. She took a deep breath and read what he had wrote about her.

**_'Emilia Jones, limited ability, unlikely to be connected.'_**

Limited, he had said she was limited. He hadn't said that to her face nor when he was between her legs so why write it down now?

She followed another piece of string, this time blue, which was connected to her picture. As she followed it she found other black and white photos joined up to the very same string. It led to one main picture at the very top of the map.

It was an unfamiliar face, she had never seen him before. 'Klaus Schmidt.'

Then it clicked.

She remembered Erik telling her about the coin. How he was prisoner at a concentration camp as a child, how a man had killed his mother in front of him and how he had been tortured throughout the years to unveil his powers. Klaus Schmidt was the man who had tortured him and Erik was trying to hunt him down. If that was the case, then why did the soldiers staring back at her have slain written across their faces? If they were dead then how would Erik know?

_'Maybe he killed them,'_ she couldn't stop herself from thinking. _'Maybe that's what he's doing right now.'_ she didn't want to believe it, but as she kept staring at the news articles about each of the men she couldn't stop.

**_'Anatol Abetz, father of three, found dead last week.'_**

**_'Stanislaus Sulzberger murdered at holiday home in France.'_**

**_'Death of Linus Pröll marks fifth Nazi to be slaughtered in last three months.'_**

Emilia clawed out and ripped the map from the wall, tearing all the pictures, news articles and notes away with it. She couldn't have lived with a murderer for two months... could she? Why didn't he murder her? How could she have been so stupid to be taken in by a man as vile as him?

She hated him. She started to tear the map to pieces. She hated him more than she had ever hated anything or anyone before. Emilia wanted his happiness to be ripped away from him, to be turned against him, for him to be unloved and alone, like she now was.

Staring up at the wall, she saw that one of the pictures had stayed up there. It was the picture Erik had left of her, except now she noticed he was in it in the background. He was looking at her, smiling at her, he too looked happy. She took the photo and hid it. So when the day would come when they knocked on her door and asked if she knew anything about an 'Erik Lehnsherr', she could tell them yes. She would hand over the photo and tell them he was a liar, a thief and a murderer.

But that day would be in the future. Now, Emilia Jones, the Orphan who came to live with her uncle, would have to carry on.

In the end she only has herself to blame. Emilia had always been too good with stories and often got carried away. So when she invented the story of 'Orphan Girl' she had imagined her 'father' to look like James Dean while her 'mother' would have been an Audrey Hepburn look alike. That would explain her dark hair, strong brows and blue eyes. Her 'father' passed away when she was young from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her 'mother' never got over his death and years later died of a broken heart.

But that never happened. It often doesn't happen. Men these days don't die because they're in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' and women don't die of a broken heart;

They move on. They re-marry and they get over it.

But now she's so far from home that Emilia Jones has to live up to her title.

She finds it almost comical that she had become what she had always feared. She had become the orphaned girl by nature.

* * *

Feedback is always welcome. :)


	3. The Blue Girl and The Student

_"But I know, I know, I know..._  
_Life can be beautiful."_  
**Heathers The Musical, Beautiful**

* * *

**August 1961**

She flinches when they call her _'harlot'_.

They watch her leave for work in the mornings and watch her trail back at the end of the day. Cathy's on a Monday, June takes the Tuesday (and Wednesday, if she's lucky) watch and then Marion is on duty Thursday. They unite together to inspect her on the Friday.

They comment on everything. If she wears a dress, they think it's too short and easy to distract men with. If she wears a skirt and blouse, she looks like a Mormon. If she wears trousers and a blouse, she looks a man.

She can never please them.

It's because they blame her for Erik leaving. The story that's fed from ear to ear is that his 'orphan niece' was too much trouble to handle.

"She's getting awful close with Jamie downstairs." Cathy would comment.

"Do you think that there was something between her and that uncle?"

"Must have been. Well... you know what they say don't you? You can't keep a bitch down when she's in season."

Then they cackle. That's the point where she rushes the last steps to her room and tries to not let it get to her.  
If she had her sister, Erik or... or just a friend then she could have laughed it off. But she doesn't have any of those things. She's alone.  
Home is just a word, she thinks to herself as she gazes around the rented apartment. It doesn't mean much more than another thing she doesn't have.

Friday must have been a good day. Not only was there a sale in the local clothes shop, but the sun actually shone. And it shone for her, for the sweet summer's day in August was going to be hers.

At least, it would have. If only they hadn't been sat in their usual cluster.

"Oh, here she comes," June whispers. "Oh god look at that blue dress."

"I know!" The other gasped.

"Who does she think she is? Marilyn Monroe or some other talentless-" She refused to listen to the rest of the sentence. She admires Hollywood's _'Blonde Bombshell'_ too much. There was also nothing wrong with her dress. As far as Emilia was concerned, it was at the appropriate length.

Hearing a scoff, she raised her head as she neared them. Since when did she allow herself to be bullied by older women who have nothing better to do?

But, as she opened her mouth to say something, her voice failed her. Her head hung low as she avoided eye contact with her tormentors.

She shivers when they call her a 'slut'.

-o-

"Excuse me, I'm here for the waitressing job."

Emilia sighed placing the two teas at table four, both with sugar, one without milk. She glanced at the woman standing behind her and then carried the tea stained tray she was holding back to the counter.

"Great." She replied whilst sliding a coffee and a large breakfast onto another tray.

"I brought all the paperwork with me." The blonde followed Emilia's steps around the small café as she spoke. Emilia came to a halt at table six.

"Ah thanks Emmy." The middle aged builder came to the small café every Friday.

"Anytime Joe." She span around and found herself face to face the girl. She stopped herself from shrieking at how close she was and raised an eyebrow at the pile of paper work held out towards her.

"Thanks."

Emilia took the paper off her with her left hand and held onto the tray in the other. She shuffled around the tall girl and walked back over to the counter.

"Frank are those scrambled eggs done?" She called out to the café's cook.

"Nearly!" He shouted back in response.

She dropped the papers onto the counter next to the till and put the tray away. She looked up and found the girl right in front of her again. When Emilia met her eyes, she dropped her gaze and somehow found interest in the rest of the café. Emilia sighed and started to flick through the paper.

"Raven Darkholme, formally known as Xavier," She spoke aloud to herself. "Twenty-five years old." She flicked through the rest of it till the part about past work. "Miss Darkholme... or Xavier, there's a problem with the part about previous employment." Raven bit her lip and readjusted her bag.

"There is?"

The scrambled eggs came through a mini flap that separated the rest of the café from the kitchen.

"Order number five is up!" The cook called out.

"Thanks Frank!" Emilia put the plate on a tray and walked towards table three. Knowing that Raven was following her, she continued to speak.

"The problem is that you don't have any references." She put the plate down in front of the customer and returned to the counter.

"My brother wrote a couple of pages at the back about me," Raven took back her paperwork and skimmed to the last pages then pushed it back. "He goes to Oxford University, I told him not to write too much and he said he'd only write a couple of pages." Emilia raised an eyebrow.

"There are nine back to back pages here." Emilia looked down at the paper Raven handed her, it was tucked together in a neat blue folder.

"He has big handwriting?" Raven offered in response.

Her cheeks had scorched red in embarrassment. They were much like Emilia's when she had passed the terrible trio this morning.

She wondered how long Raven had spent picking out the folder in her hands. How long had she spent in the mirror deciding what to wear? How many interviews had she had? Did her brother think that she was going to get this one?

They were short staffed, after the other waitress quit Emilia was the only one left. They needed another waitress and Raven did seem like she wanted the job. But, her boss told her that they needed someone with experience and to not waste time on any new employees. She also didn't want to waste her time teaching someone how to make a cup of coffee.

Emilia looked her up and down. The clothes she wore were suitable for not only the summer season but the job too. Her hair rested in light curls down her back.

Emilia, coming to a decision, rubbed the back of her neck. "Can you make tea?" Raven appeared to be a bit put off by her question but responded quick.

"Yes."  
"Coffee?"  
"It's like the same thing, right?"

"Sort of," Emilia smiled. "When can you start?"

"Wait, does that mean I got the job?" Raven's surprised eyes widened.

"That's what you wanted right?" Emilia asked as she took a plate of toast, no butter, to a table.

"Yes, yes it is, thank you, thank you so much." Emilia collected a tip from Joe across the room as Raven carried on. "I can start now if you'd like?" Emilia turned and gave her a tiny smile.

"Let's get you kitted out then shall we?" Raven followed her back to the till and Emilia picked up her folder. "Here's your stuff." Ravens pale fingertips met hers as she took the folder away. A shock went through Emilia as their skin touched.

She pushed herself away as Raven stared at her in confusion. Emilia felt something strange, her entire body felt as if she had needles jabbing into her. She looked down at her hands.

Black veins. Black veins cursed her and stood out against the skin. _'Oh god no,' _she begged, _'not this again.'_

Her fingernails began to grow into a more rounded shape. Her hands grew bigger by a couple of inches and her arms gained more muscle. She felt herself become taller, her hair turned blonde and she was no longer wearing her work clothes. She was wearing Ravens clothes.

No, in fact she was Raven.

She looked down at herself in horror and looked up at Raven who had the exact same expression on her face.

It felt as if the walls of the room were closing in on her. Everything was crowding in on her and there was nowhere to hide. She found herself hyperventilating. She stumbled backwards and sprinted to the toilets.

When she got there, Emilia charged into a cubicle and locked herself inside. She fell onto the white plastic seat and put her head in her hands, attempting to calm herself down.

_'Breathe,'_ she told herself. _'Breathe, it's only chemicals.'_

But it wasn't just chemicals. The last time she had felt a shock like that was when she had met Erik. When she had first discovered her abilities. Maybe Raven was like Erik too?

The toilet door slammed open and someone rushed in.

"Hello? It's me, Raven." She heard Ravens feet tap against the floor. "Look, I just want to talk." Emilia didn't reply and Raven was answered with silence. "Please come out."

_'At least she didn't tell anyone'_ she thought to herself. Her shaking body got up and unlocked the cubicle door.

Taking baby steps out, she found herself face to face with someone she thought was Raven. She jumped backwards and gave out a small shriek when she was met with something completely different.

The girl who was supposed to be Raven was blue, there was no way else to put it. She had strange patterns soaring all over her body, she had bright crimson hair and the most amber eyes Emilia had ever seen. She only knew it was Raven by the clothes she was wearing and by her voice. Raven looked down embarrassed at the floor, away from Emilia.

"I'm sorry if I scared you."

She didn't mean to be rude but it came out of Emilia's mouth before she could stop herself.

"What are you?" She wanted to kick herself for saying it.

"I'm…I... I don't really know. My brother says it's a mutation, he even calls us mutants. But I guess I'm just... different.

If Emilia's eyes weren't open wide before they definitely were now.

"Same." Raven looked back up at her.

"What?" She asked. Emilia eyed one of the metal handles of the cubicle doors. She raised her hand then with a sharp twist to the right the handle fell clean off the door.

"Metal, that's what I do." She took a deep breath in. "Was what happened out there, down to you?" Raven shook her head and came closer.'

"I didn't do anything," She tilted her head, confused at her. "I thought that was all you?" Emilia looked away into the mirror, her reflection still showed the original Raven she had met five minutes ago. "If you relax it'll go away." She turned the tap on and splashed water on to her face, when she looked up she was Emilia Jones again.

She held onto the side of the sink, why did these things happen to her? A silence had settled between them, both not knowing what to say. She felt sick and dizzy, she just wanted to curl into a ball on the ice cold floor.

"So," Raven broke the silence. "Do I still have the job?" She doesn't know why but she began to chuckle at Raven. She found it hard to hide a smile, it had been a long while since she had a reason to.

"Yes, you still have the job." Emilia pushed herself off the sink and moved towards the exit. She turned around to Raven and gave a small smile to her while opening the door. "Come on, I'll show you the basics." Her smile was returned and once again Raven followed her out of the room.

-o-

"Do I have to ask them what colour mug they'd prefer?"

"No Raven, you get to pick what colour they have."

"But what if they have something against the colour blue?" Before Emilia could reply, Raven started to shout at someone. "Charles, Charles!" She waved her hands over her head at him. "Charles, I'm over here, Charles!" A man in his late 20's walked over to them. He had short brown hair and was dressed very smart in a white shirt and a grey woollen jacket combined with navy trousers. He smiled at Raven.

"Sorry for disrupting you, but I was just wondering if I was accompanying you home anytime soon?" Raven gave him a smug smile while Emilia's eyes widened at his vocabulary. Who even says words like _'accompanying' _anymore? Of course_ he'd_ be in Oxford.

"There's no need," she answered. "I got the job." A big grin covered his face.

"Raven, that's great!" He then decided to glance at Emilia. She looked away and pretended to be examining the floor.

Oh look, there was speck of dirt on the ground. It went very well with all the other specs of dirt.

Raven then remembered that she was there. "I'm sorry, Charles this is my… friend Emilia," She smiled at Raven's pause at thinking of what to call her. She was glad to know that she thought of her as a friend after what had happened earlier. "Emilia works here as well, Emilia this is my brother Charles." Charles smiled at her.

"Hello." He spoke only to be polite. He did not care much for a waitress.

"Hi," She moved away from both of them so he wouldn't get the chance to shake her hand. She didn't want any more physical encounters after what happened with Raven. "I'll let you both have a moment." Raven's beam disappeared.

"Wait no, its fine, you can stay."

"Oh no it's alright, trust me," She smiled at the blonde. "I'll just go get your apron." She turned away from them and headed to the storage cupboard. She could hear snippets of their conversation while she searched.

"What do you mean you showed yourself?" He sounded appalled.

"Charles it's okay, she's like us. Oh, don't give me that look Charles!"

Wait, 'like us', was Charles like Raven? Was he also a natural blue like his sister?

"Raven I can't read her." He whispered.

What? She froze.

"What do you mean you can't read her? You can read everyone!" After thinking that maybe Charles might not be all there, she was appalled. How could Raven go along with his slightly delusional ideas?

"Everyone apart from her. There has got to be some sort of block on her, I can't hear a single thought."

She didn't want to hear anymore. She was there to do her job and earn money. If that meant putting on a fake smile and pretending that the conversation she had heard wasn't nuts, then so be it.

"Hey Emmy," She turned to see Frank flipping a pancake through the kitchen door. "Thought the boss said he don't want no one who ain't experienced?"

"Yeah? Well I thought the boss said he wanted you to stop eating the food before you serve it?" She left Frank with his cigarette in his mouth and turned the corner to find Raven and Charles watching her. She immediately stopped under their stares, hoping they hadn't heard what Frank said.

"I got the apron." She spoke to Raven. Raven smiled and came to her.

"Thank you." Raven put it around her waist and tied it at the back.

"Hey, why don't you take a shot at waitressing while I take my break?" Raven nodded at her, now looking nervous. "You'll do fine." She tried to assure her.

"In fact," Charles now spoke. "I'd like to be your first customer, two teas for me and Emilia please." He looked at Emilia and gave a soft smile. "That is, if she'd like to join me."

"Actually," Raven answered for her. "Emilia doesn't like tea, she prefers hot chocolate."

"Not only are you on first name basis, you already know what she likes to drink," Charles raised an eyebrow at Raven. "I'd hate to think about what she knows about you Raven." She wonders if he's hinting at the toilet incident.

"She's had four interviews this week, she prefers coffee to tea, she doesn't like it when she's treated like a child," Emilia crossed her arms in front of her with a smirk on her face. "And she also isn't fond of the colour blue." The till pinged as it opened, Raven held out her hand to Charles, also carrying a smirk on her face. "I believe that's £1.50 sir." Charles dug his hand into his pocket to get the change out.

"Well aren't you two the best of friends?" He grumbled while Raven gave a sweet smile at him as he dropped the money into her palm.

"I like to think of ourselves as socially challenged." She put the money into the till and then shut it, it pinged back in response.

"Aren't you just." He mumbled before turning to Emilia. He lifted his hand and motioned to the tables around them. "The choice is all yours." Emilia gave half a smile and then walked over to one of the tables on the right side of the room.

Table no.3, she liked that one, it had blossom flowers which dazzled with pinks and whites. It was plastic of course, but it did remind her of the flowers her mother had once painted. They both slid into the booth and faced each other.

It was silent for a couple of seconds before she decided to break it.

"Thank you… for buying the drink." He didn't need to, she would have been fine paying for herself. Charles smiled at her. She noted that he had a kind smile.

"It's my pleasure. Thank you for giving my sister a chance, few places did."

"It's fine, she's no problem at all." His blue eyes locked onto hers as he raised a brow. She noticed he had baby blue eyes.

"Even after what happened earlier?" Emilia met his look with one of her own, just as she was about to respond she heard two soft bangs on the table in front of her.

"Your tea and hot chocolate." She looked up at Raven whose blonde hair was now tied back tight. Emilia gave a smile, realising that Raven had remembered what she said about the rules. They both thanked her and after giving Charles a look that said _'Don't ruin things for me'_, Raven left. Emilia glared down at the hot drink, refusing to look back up at him.

"Raven told you about what happened?" Emilia wasn't mad or upset that she told him, maybe a little scared about how he'd respond.

"Raven tells me everything."

"That's odd," Emilia said remembering the conversation she overheard. "I don't remember hearing her say much."

Charles leaned forward an inch. "She said that it was when you both touched that it happened?" Emilia nodded. "She also said you control metal?" Emilia nodded at him again.

"When did it start?" It might have been because he was easy to talk to, or that he was the only one who ever asked, but everything spilled out. Emilia left out Erik's name and everything about his past with the coin and the map. All she lied about was that the coin was loose change.

Charles was a good listener. He did not interrupt, did not ask questions and in truth seemed interested in what she had to say. He treated her like a human being instead of how most people treated her. Some of those were creeps who called her a 'Sex Kitten' or others that just assumed that she's dumb because she's a waitress.

He rested his chin in his palm and furrowed his eyebrows together in thought. "I think I might have an inkling to what your mutation is Emilia." She sat up straighter in her seat.

"You do?" He dropped his hands on the table to hold onto his cup of tea.

"You may have the ability to replicate other's mutations. Of course we'd need you to touch another person with a mutation to see if the process happens again. It only first showed itself when you met another whose power has stayed with you ever since. Raven is the second mutant you've met and it's mimicked hers as well." Charles took a quick sip from tea before carrying on. "Luckily, you don't completely take their powers away." She stared at him for a moment, it made sense. How Erik's and Raven's mutation had kicked in early but hers had not.

"What if I touched you and absorbed your mutation?" Emilia wondered aloud to him.

"I'd fear you'd think you were going insane." He gave a sad look but kept the small smile that never seemed to leave.

"Why would I think that?"

"Because that was what I believed when it begun." She watched him from under her dark eyebrows. "Is it really that bad?" He pushed his now empty mug away from him.

"No, by the age of twelve I'd gotten used to it."

"Twelve?" She was astounded.

"Oh yeah." She stroked around the edge of her empty cup, not sure on what to say. "Strange," He added. "I've never told anyone that before." She then realised that she didn't know what his mutation was.

"What is it then? Your mutation?"

"I read and control people's minds." She leaned across the table towards him in interest and pointed her finger at one of the men across the room.

"What's he thinking?" Charles smiled and looked over at him, he raised two pale fingers to the side of his forehead.

"He's thinking about a very lovely lady he met last night." Emilia pointed at a woman with three young uncontrollable boys.

"The ginger one." He raised his two fingers to his head again.

"Why she had ever decided to have children." The routine continued, she'd point and he'd answer. They'd gotten all the way from two people having an affair to a small child wanting to become an iceman.

"An iceman?" A laugh broke from away from her mouth, Charles' eyes lit up at her enjoyment. "What's an iceman?"

"I believe that it's a type of fireman, except instead of fire, there's ice." They both watched the small boy run around the room making fire engine noises.

"That's...different."

There were only two people left in the café that Emilia hadn't pointed to, herself and Raven. She turned a thin finger to herself, knowing that Charles had promised Raven that he would never enter her mind. He raised two fingers to the side of his head again and concentrated on her. He locked his blue eyes onto hers. She could feel her heart begin to speed up at the thought of him finding something embarrassing like he had with the others surrounding them. He took longer than before. She stayed still, waiting for him to speak. After a while he gave out a long sigh and dropped his fingers from his temple.

"Emilia," A serious tone plagued Charles' voice. "I don't know what but there's something blocking me from reading your mind." She rested her back against the bench, it was cold on the bottom of her neck.

"Has someone put it there?" She asked.

"No, I think I would have been able to feel it otherwise." Charles paused and tilted his head to the left. "Unless..."

"What? What is it?"

"It could be that a side effect of your mutation is that you're unaffected by certain mutations, like mine." She crossed her arms in front of herself and gave a soft kick to one of the tiles underneath.

"I'm the human definition of a sponge." Charles smirked at her.

"A very groovy sponge."

"Very." She agreed, now grinning at him.

Emilia didn't know why, but somehow, everything seemed to be lighter. She was not alone anymore, not afraid of what she could do and not confused by her abilities anymore. She felt happier knowing that she had Charles and Raven. Well, she thinks she's got them but that didn't really matter. Even if they ended up not caring for her, anything was better than knowing she was alone. She couldn't stop the grin spread across her face when Charles promised her that both he and Raven would help her with her mutation every step of the way.

Yet somehow, through her new found happiness, a voice crept through from the back of her mind.

_'Remember the last time you met someone with a mutation? You knocked a poor defenceless man out, left your family heartbroken and he ended up leaving you when he got bored.'_

Charles was different from Erik though, he and Raven were kind to her.

_'Erik was kind'_ Miss Cynical spoke again. _'He gave you a nice cosy apartment and a lovely warm bed which you now sleep in alone.'_

It would be so different from before. They'd both help her. Help her discover who she was.

_'Erik tried training you, then he realised how shit you were and moved on.'_

They would understand.

_'Remember the Nazi map? Maybe Erik was planning on you to kill Nazis with him. Maybe they'll train you to be a mutant hunter?'_

When Charles invited her to come visit their apartment after Raven finished her shift, she had to accept. Emilia had to learn, she was excited to be able to use his gift in the future. Imagine, reading whoever's mind you wanted to and them not knowing. She could tell if someone was lying to her or telling the truth, what someone thought of her and what she should, and shouldn't, say to someone who could be extra sensitive around the edges.

In these past few months she had no one to go to if she needed someone there. Now, she was putting all her trust into both of them.

_'The worst thing about being lonely is other people knowing that you're lonely.'_ Emilia remembered someone saying that to her when she was a moody and ignorant teenager. She could tell Raven was lonely just as much as she was. Maybe she's found it, somewhere that she could be wanted. She felt happier, as if a great weight had been lifted from her.

And for the first time in months, Emilia didn't feel so alone.

After her and Raven's shift had finished, she went back to their shared apartment. Now it was three hours after that and she stood outside her own apartment block doors, dreading what was waiting for her inside.

However, she doesn't do what she usually does. That was to walk around the streets until she knew that the terrible threesome were gone. Instead, she opens the door and makes her way up the stairs. The three of them sit there and begin to comment about her immediately.

She gains courage for once in her life.

"Alright you old hens," They all jumped as she came gliding past them. "What've you all come to cluck about?"

"How's your 'uncle'?" One bites back.

"Running a business." She lies. _'How's your husband?'_ She makes a snide comment in her head. _'Still looking up everyone's skirts but yours?'_

_'Be the better person Em'._

"I like your skirt June." She gave a forced smile and carries on past them down the large staircase.

They don't utter a word until she reached the last step.

"Cheap skank." Cathy mutters.

She did something more than just put her head down like usual. She eyes the fake pearl necklace hung around Cathy's neck.

With the snap of her fingers, the metal clasp broke and the faux pearls crashed down to the floor. As she heard Cathy's voice cry out, Emilia let her mouth curl into a sly smirk as she opened the apartment buildings doors.

_'Oh Emilia, you are awful!'_

She attempts a twirl of joy as she steps into her apartment. Oh yes, she was _truly_ awful.

* * *

**PREVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER:** _Charles Graduates - Raven isn't so happy about Charles' new relationship - Emilia gets jealous._

NEXT CHAPTER WILL GO STRAIGHT INTO FIRST CLASS!

_**Shout outs!:  
show-choir-tech  
lovestory2055  
FollowTheSun22  
NightWindAlchemist  
You cant rush science **_(Love your name btw :D)  
**Jordan Lynn 7**  
**NLia  
angelloverkk  
mywing00  
soulsistersinaslan  
NightWindAlchemist  
lovestory2055  
IKhandoZatman  
Winchester-or-Whitlock (Whitlock ;))  
MsMarauder17  
FollowTheSun22  
Enchanted Elf  
Future Trunks lover  
ElijahMikealsonfan  
CrazyMusicalWonderland**

_THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS/FOLLOWS/FAVOURITES THEY ARE ALL APPRECIATED SO MUCH AND MADE ME SO HAPPY!_

(Btw, do you guys prefer long or short chapters? I normally do long chapters that's why it takes so long to write.)

**_I'M SORRY BUT I WON'T UPDATE UNTIL I GET UP TO FIVE REVIEWS! It's to see if this story is worth continuing. I have written the next chapter, I just need to go over it and make sure it's good enough!_**

_Ciao!_


	4. Mutant and Proud?

**_"To jealousy, nothing is more frightful than laughter."_**  
**_-_**

**_Francoise Sagan, French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter._**

* * *

**July 1962**

** Oxford University, England.**

It was around ten o'clock when the drinks started to kick in. She couldn't remember how much she had within the last three hours, but she knew that the minute she'd finish a drink another would be put in front of her.

"One glass of wine for Emilia please."  
"You want another?"  
"It'll be cheaper if we share a bottle."  
"Have a pint with me?"  
"What do you mean you haven't tried Rum and Coke?"  
"You don't like it? Don't worry love, let me get you another pint."

She felt warm and giddy. Uncontrollable outbursts of laughter coming from her every so often wasn't a surprise. Emilia hated her laugh. According to the lovely man next to her it was the greatest thing he had ever heard. She still hated it. She'd forgotten what his name was. Was it Lee? No, Liam? William?  
"Alright Lee? How's it going, mate?"  
_Ah, it was Lee._

She leaned back on her chair and rested her head onto Raven's shoulder. Emilia grinned up at the blonde.  
"Hey." Raven looked down at her with an arched eyebrow.  
"You're drunk." Emilia giggled at her observation. She lifted herself off an unamused Raven.

"And you're not," Her eyes wildly rushed around the room and the chair startled to wobble underneath her sudden movements. She would have fallen off if Raven hadn't held it still.  
"Where is your darling brother?" Raven fell back into her seat and folded her arms in front of her.  
"I don't know, he's your boyfriend." Emilia paused for a minute and glanced at Raven.

Raven wasn't happy and it didn't take a genius or a telepath to tell. She wondered what had happened. Everything was good at first, they were happy. She and Raven became best friends in the months that went by, spending every minute they could together while Charles was at university. Even when they were working they wouldn't leave each other, that included their lunch break.

Two months down the line everything started to change. She and Charles began seeing each other more. He would take her out to places without Raven, strolls in the park or to dinners at local restaurants.

Emilia found her stomach doing flips whenever she thought of him, a smile would always find its way onto her face and nerves would kick in whenever she was close to him. She felt like a fool around him, not being able to stop herself from smiling at everything he said. Her heart would beat a little faster whenever they touched.

She knew he felt the same way, using his mutation had its ups. She felt guilty afterwards for eavesdropping on his thoughts, but she couldn't help the smug smile from coming on her face when she found out she had the same effect on him.

Eventually, he admitted his feelings for her and she admitted hers. They didn't tell Raven at first, not wanting to cause any awkwardness between them.

Raven eventually found out in December. After one present, hung up mistletoe, an angry Raven and a ruined Christmas tree, she sooner or later came to terms with it. They became distant after that. Emilia got a new job as a receptionist and no longer spent her breaks with Raven, instead she either spent them with her new co-workers or Charles.

Raven would make irritated noises and tell them to get a room whenever she and Charles were together. They found it funny at first but after a while it became more of a tiring routine. Raven would glare at both of them, she'd make comments and she was unhappy.

Emilia loved Raven, there was no doubt about it. Raven was the one person Emilia trusted more than Charles. But she didn't know if Raven felt the same anymore.

"What's wrong?" Emilia turned her body towards her. "Have I done something wrong?" Raven sighed and looked down at theo ground before looking back up.  
"It's nothing," Raven took a deep breath and appeared to gain courage from it.

"You want another drink?" They both looked up to see Lee standing in front of their table.

She nodded, slightly disappointed that he interrupted what Raven was going to say, knowing that she wasn't going to bring it back up again. He looked over at Raven, only now noticing her.

"You want a drink as well?" Raven looked up in surprise, it was probably the first time that night that someone apart from Emilia and Charles had spoken to her. She quickly nodded and thanked him. They both watched him walk to the bar.

"I think I found Charles." And so Raven had.  
They watched as Charles made his way over to a tall blonde at the bar. He wouldn't flirt with her would he? Not when Emilia was there? Then again she had been quite close with Lee. She fiddled anxiously with her bracelet as she stared at the two.

"Heterochromia." The woman glanced at him.  
"A gentleman would at least offer to buy me a drink first." As she watched him smirk, Emilia felt a sudden surge of jealousy.

He hadn't bothered to ask her if she wanted a drink. Lee and his friends had bought most of her drinks. Emilia turned to Raven, drowning out Charles getting a drink for the blonde.

"Is he really flirting with her?" She sent a glare over to him, her voice dripped with frustration.  
"Not yet," Raven replied. "Just wait." It was Emilia this time who leaned back into the seat and folded her arms in annoyance.

Raven readjusted the scarf she wore and gave a look over at the two at the bar. Emilia's glare turned colder as he introduced himself.

How come he was allowed to read other people's minds when she wasn't? He had made a firm rule that she couldn't just use the mutation for the hell of it. Mostly because she didn't have a clue what she was doing half the time and could cause damage, but he was doing it. She pressed her lips into a firm straight line.

"Heterochromia was in reference to your eyes, which I have to say, are stunning." _Really? _Was he _really_ doing this?

_"Two can play at this game, Charles."_ She seethed telepathically in his mind. His eyes shot quickly at her, hearing her loud and clear.

Charles stared closely as Lee came back with her and Ravens drinks. Emilia leaned forward over to him, slightly showing the right amount of cleavage to the drunk. Charles whipped back to Amy, sensing Emilia's current choice of game.

"One green, one blue. It's a mutation. It's a very groovy mutation." Emilia laughed loudly at something Lee said. Thankfully it sounded better than the last one.

Didn't he say she was groovy before? A groovy sponge? It wasn't just a foolish game anymore, now it was a competition. She leaned on Lee's shoulder and rested her hand on his. She wanted to recoil when he placed his other hand on her thigh. She looked at Charles and saw him give a quick glare to Lee.

_"Intruding on people's minds again Charles?"  
__"Only the vile ones."  
_Aha, so he didn't like what Lee was thinking. Then again she didn't particularly want to know what Lee was thinking of either.

"I've got news for you Amy. You are a mutant."  
_Like fuck she was._ After reading Amy's thoughts, Emilia could safely say that she was the furthest thing from a mutant she had ever encountered. Okay, maybe she was being a little bit too mean, maybe Amy was actually a lovely girl.

"First you proposition a girl and then you call her deformed. How is that seduction technique working for you?"  
No, Emilia concluded, no she did not like her at all.

"I'll tell you in the morning."  
_Twat._ She quickly pulled her dress down slightly to stop Lee's wandering hand from travelling further up. She looked at him and made sure to slightly push out her chest to gain his attention.

"Are you busy tonight?" She batted her eyelashes lightly. He grinned down at her, his eyes found the bust of her dress before her face.

"Depends if you're coming home with me," He reached forward for her drink and lifted it up to her mouth. "Drink up."

She took a mouthful, then scrunched her face up and gagged at the taste. Lee gave a booming laugh which made his huge body shake, she giggled along with him but wasn't sure why. She was too distracted to listen to Charles and Amy's conversation.

She wouldn't go home with Lee and Charles wouldn't go home with Amy. It was something they did when they were both drunk, a technique to get the others attention. It was horrible and she hated it but the satisfaction of seeing Charles jealous made her laugh.

When she looked back up at the table she was seated on they were all chanting. She watched as one of Lee's friends started to chug a huge pint down. She found herself laughing with them and joining in with the chants.

She looked back over to Raven and saw that she had already finished her drink and was still watching Charles. She began to listen into their conversation again.

"Then let's reclaim that word." Amy spoke after Charles gave a mini speech on mutation which Emilia didn't understand.  
"I've had enough of this," Raven grumbled to the intoxicated girl sitting next to her as she shoved herself out of her seat.

At least Emilia wasn't the only one who felt the same. Raven got her bag from the chair and strode over, Emilia knew it was her queue to come in soon.

She quickly got her contact mirror out of her bag and decided to use Ravens gift to good use. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Charles and Amy lift their drinks to each other.  
"Mutant and proud." Emilia scoffed at her while viewing herself.

She took a deep breath and let Ravens mutation take charge. Emilia made all of the faint spots and marks on her face disappear, her skin became smooth and soft. Her face lost weight and her cheekbones became more prominent. Her hair lightly curled itself. She looked down and found that her stomach had pushed itself in, her green dress now had less creases and no longer had beer stains on it. Looking back up to her face, she made sure that her makeup was automatically re-done.

She wasn't a vain person, she wasn't proud about how she looked and she certainly didn't love looking at herself in the mirror. She was more self-conscious than was pretty, in fact she was very pretty. Unlike Emilia, who was pale when Amy had a healthy bronzed tan.

Her face started to feel if he thought Amy was prettier than her? What if he liked her the way he said he liked Emilia? What if Charles had had enough of her?

_'He doesn't like her, he loves you!' _She tried to reassure herself._  
'Erik said he loved you,' _a voice of self doubt crept up.

_Even if he does like her, Charles isn't that important. You don't need him._  
Or was she just saying that?

"I guess I have to buy my own drink." She smiled at Raven's comment reminding Charles that they were in fact still there.  
"I'm sorry," Charles raised a hand to the bar man. "Two colas."

"Oh don't worry about Emmy," Raven pointed her thumb at her. Emilia immediately turned away. "They're all buying her drinks." Charles raised his hand again with a grim expression covering his face.  
"One cola." Amy turned to Raven.

"Charles here was just telling me that I'm like one of the first sea creatures that grew legs."  
"Only just a bit sexier." If looks could kill then Emilia's would have slaughtered both Charles and Amy.

"Hey where'd your pretty friend go?" Lee searched around the small pub, his heavy body fell against hers and his elbow struck her rib making a sharp groan leave her mouth. His breath stank of booze.

"You stay while I go look, okay?" He nodded and soon forgot about her as she held her side in pain leaving him.

"I'm sorry," Charles spoke without taking his eyes off Amy. "This is my sister Raven." Amy smiled and put her hand out for Raven to shake. Raven took a second before shaking hers and greeting her, not really wanting to.

"Charles, how rude of you," A smirk came onto Ravens face as she noticed Emilia coming towards them. "You forgot to introduce Emmy."

As Emilia came into view both Charles and Amy's smiles slightly died down. Charles narrowed his eyes down at Emilia, unpleased with her changing appearances. Emilia strode, attempting not to sway, over to Amy and raised her hand so she could shake it.

"Emilia," She introducing herself. Amy shook her hand and smiled. "I'm sure Charles told you who I am." Amy gave her a confused look.  
"Actually he-" She cut Amy off not giving her chance to finish.  
"I'm his girlfriend." Amy's smile sank.

"Oh, Charles never mentioned he had a girlfriend." Amy gave a pointed look at the man holding her attention who would now not meet her eyes.  
"Did he not?" Emilia downed the rest of her drink before continuing. "Shame."

"You must think he's perfect." Amy still stared at Charles, dragging her words out as a compliment for him. Emilia hid the temptation to roll her eyes.

"Yes," Emilia looked at Charles then Amy. The two girl's eyes met. "He's a bit short though." She put her empty glass on the bar as Amy gave a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes while Raven coughed loudly to hide her laugh. Charles gave an unimpressed look at Emilia. Amy turned to Raven.

"And what are you studying?" Emilia glanced up at Raven. Both of them were the only few in the pub who weren't studying at Oxford, or at any university for that matter.

"Waitressing." Raven replied coolly. Amy gave a certain look Emilia had seen many times.  
"Ah."

The two friends peeked a glance at each other and both gave a knowing look before Raven twisted back to Amy who was still regarding her closely. Emilia watched as Raven's left eye changed to a golden amber, contrasting greatly against her almost too perfect blue eye.

"Oh look, you have Heterochromia too!" Amy smiled kindly at Raven.  
"Sorry, what?" Charles confusedly turned to Amy, not realising it was Raven she was addressing. Emilia hide a smirk and went along with it.

"Well look at her eye." Amy stared fondly at Raven. Charles turned his curious gaze up at Raven. She grinned at him with her 'new' eye colour. Charles coughed uncomfortably and didn't take his unsettled eyes off Raven.

"Right, Raven, Emilia, can you get your coats please?" He placed a five pound note down on the bar to pay for the drink he had just ordered.

"What, why?" Emilia crossed her arms in front of her. He gave her a look.  
_"You both know very well why,"_ he thought. He narrowed his eyes down at her and pointed behind her.  
"Coat!" Emilia huffed and stormed over to her coat, quickly gathering it with her bag before Lee or any of the others noticed her.

-o-

"Don't talk to me, you did that on purpose."

The trio came out of the pub, Charles in front with Raven following and Emilia lagging behind.  
"I did not!" Raven shot back as she tugged on her coat and caught up with her brother.  
"Yes you did!"

Emilia sighed, digging her hands into her woollen coat pockets not really seeing what the fuss was about.

"Why would I do that on purpose? You know I can't control it sometimes if I'm stressed or if I'm tired." They were all now walking in a straight line beside each other, Raven in the middle with Charles on her left and Emilia on her right.

She struggled to catch up with the siblings fast pace as she started to slightly sway from the brisk cold air confusing her drunken mind. Her head had already started to ache and her heels were rubbing against her feet.

"You seem to be doing a perfectly good job right now." Emilia decided add fuel to the fire.  
"Why does it even matter?" Charles gave a glance across at her but did not answer. Raven huried her pace and Emilia noticed how pleasant Ravens hair looked as it fell behind her shoulders in her walk.  
_  
"Mutant and proud!"_ She imitated Amy with a high English accent. Emilia giggled at her impression, mostly because she was laughing at everything that went on around her. Raven went on, "Sure or is it only with pretty mutations." They all walked up the steps which meant Emilia holding onto the back of Raven and Charles to get herself up without falling. "Or invisible ones like you guys? But if you're a freak, you better hide." Raven looked sourly off to the only smiled in response.

"You're being ridiculous." Emilia then piped up after finding her step.

"She's quite right. You don't exactly see manyp people running around with blue scales all over their body." Raven raised a hand in agreement to her.  
"See!" Charles stopped and turned to them.

"I don't mean to sound like an old fart."  
"Which you are." Raven responded. Emilia and Charles both smiled at her comment.  
"Sometimes," he now looked at her seriously. "But we've talked about this, Raven. A small slip up is one thing. A big one does not bear thinking about it."

They stared at each other for a moment. Emilia stood there shifting awkwardly from side to side as the two finished having their little moment.

"I think," she broke the silence. "I might get a taxi back." They both looked at her and watched as she kicked a stone with her shoe.

"Nonsense," Charles raised an arm out for her. She dipped her head under and rested herself against him. "We'll walk you."

Raven sighed loudly as she walked behind them. Charles leaned his head down and affectionately kissed the top of her head. She went in closer and smiled to herself.

They were going to be just fine.

-o-

Raven stared at her natural form in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Her feet were sore and the overwhelming feeling of dropping down and falling dead asleep on the floor became more inviting by the minute.

She sighed as she looked at herself. Blue scales patterened themselves across her body in intricate swirls. Her red hair naturally flicked up at the ends whilst bright amber eyes stared back at her.

In a moment of self-pity, she wondered why she couldn't have had a mutation like Charles or Emilia. One were she didn't look so... blue. Self-pity turned to self-loathing and Raven hated what she saw in the mirror. Charles didn't get it and neither did Emilia.  
_  
"I think it's a gift."_ Emilia had said to her one day._"You're the one with the gift,"_ Raven had replied _"You can do all this and not look like a freak."_

She shouldn't have said that for Emilia hadn't made a compliment about her mutation since. Raven liked it when she made compliments about her, it made her light up slightly, she even felt a little gooey inside. She liked Emilia, she was her only friend apart from Charles.

Yet, whenever Emilia was with Charles, Raven would get this weird feeling in her stomach and in her mouth. She didn't want her only friend to be with her brother. She felt lonely, feeling as if they both didn't need her anymore, as if she wasn't important.

She didn't want to feel that way, she wanted to be happy for them. She definitely preferred Charles being with Emilia then with someone like Amy from earlier.

Someone human.

Remembering Amy, she imitated her again.

"Mutant and proud." She put her toothbrush back in her mouth and continued. She felt a touch of anger thinking about what the girl had said. She then called out loudly to get Charles' attention. "Mutant and proud?!"

She turned around and saw that Charles had his head down writing in his book. He didn't notice her... again. She turned back and after a final stroke she spat the toothpaste out.

_"Mutant and Proud,"_ she sighed to herself. She then wondered if there was anyone out there who'd want her. She stiffened. No, no one would someone who was so different and… blue.

Or, would they?

She knew there were other mutants out there. How many were there though? Was there anyone else who was like her? Anyone who was proud of what they were?

_"__If only,"_ she spoke to herself. How can someone be proud of being blue? She walked out into the living room and stopped by the door.

"Would you date me?"  
"Of course I would." He didn't look up from his writing. "Any young man would be lucky to have you. You are stunning."

"Looking like this?"  
"Like … what?" He looked up and saw that she was in her natural blue form, only wearing a crisp white dressing gown. "Blue?"

Embarrassed, she looked down at the carpet away from him. He quickly thought about the question before answering it.

"You're my oldest friend." She gave a half-hearted smile that didn't reach her eyes.  
"I'm your only friend." Emilia's face then came to her thoughts. _'Friend-friend,_' she tried to correct herself in her thoughts. _'Non-sexual friend, sister-type friend.'_ He laughed at her spoken comment.  
"Thanks for that."

She quickly grew impatient of him not answering.  
"Well?" He busied himself with his papers.

"I am incapable of thinking of you that way," He picked up his notepad and pen then crossed the room. "I feel responsible for you. Anything else would just feel wrong." Raven walked over to him as he seated himself down on the small couch.

"But what if you didn't know me?" He started to go over his work.  
"Unfortunately, I do know you," He soon gave up and looked up at her. "God, I don't know what's gotten into you lately. You're awfully concerned with your looks." He looked back down and carried on reading. Seeing this as a sign to the end of the conversation, she went down onto the couch and leaned across him.

"I'm sleepy, will you read to me?" She tried to shuffle in as close as she could get.  
"I can't. I have my thesis coming up. I have to study." She had already closed her eyes.

"Fine, read that. Your thesis always sends me right off." He smiled and started to read.

"To Homo neanderthalensis, his mutant cousin, Homo sapiens, was an aberration. Peaceful cohabitation, if it ever existed, was short-lived. Records show, without exception, that the arrival of the mutated human species in any region was followed by the immediate extinction of their less-evolved kin."

By the time he had finished the third sentence in, Raven had already fallen fast asleep.

-o-

Emilia woke with a pounding headache and the overwhelming need to vomit. After bringing up all of last night's food, she couldn't say she felt any better. She sat on the bathroom floor feeling awful before remembering what happened last night.

The pub, Amy, the mini argument and Charles saying he'd pick her up at one.

She got up and made her way to the living room where the clock was. It was twelve in the afternoon now, she tried to remember why he was picking her up.

She rubbed her forehead from the pain she was in and went into the tiny kitchen looking for some painkillers. Just as Emilia brought the tablets to her mouth did she realise.

It was Charles' graduation day and she only had one hour to get ready.

Launching to the bathroom at a speed unknown to man, Emilia stripped herself down to nothing. After doing the necessary things needed before washing, she jumped into the bath.

She felt like such an idiot for forgetting. She had even gotten everything ready and in place for today before she had gone out yesterday. Her white dress with purple flowers embroidered into the chest was hung up waiting for her and her heels were underneath them, patiently laying across the carpet.

After she finished, she realised she wouldn't have enough time to do her hair. Emilia concentrated hard enough and morphed her thick hair into a high ponytail. Her makeup was completed yet again by Ravens mutation, thick eyeliner was spread across her lids as gold shadow danced above it.

She found it hard using Raven's mutation, especially when she had to do big things like completely changing her body to someone elses, it left her out of breath and feeling dizzy, just like Erik's did whenever she dared to lift something beyond her mental capacity.

At the thought of Erik, her eyes flicked down to the bottom drawer of her white vanity table in the corner of her room.

She opened it slowly and hesitantly, as if it was going to jump out at her if she opened it too fast. Buried underneath letters, old photos and other things, was the picture of her and Erik.

A lump started to form in her throat. She didn't love him, she never did. Could she forgive him? She'd like to say no, but she knew she probably would. People used to tell her that she was too kind and it was true.

Emilia sighed looking at him in the picture, Charles didn't know much about Erik, she refused to tell him his name or what he looked like and she wanted it to stay that way.

At the thought of Charles, her stomach tied itself into a knot and a grin filled her face. She put the picture back where it came from, Erik wouldn't bother her anymore.

Erik was a ghost to her and ghosts can't harm anyone, especially not her.

-o-

It was 12:50 and she was testing her luck by running down the stairs in heels.

Emilia held onto the apartment buildings stair rail as she bounded down the steps. She might have ten minutes to meet Charles but she didn't want to waste anymore time.

As she hurried, and stumbled, past the apartment doors she caught glimpses of the residents' thoughts and conversations.

_"Uncle Sam's asking where the umbrellas are."_

_"Mum, Danny's putting his toys in the oven!"_

_"Hiya Rob it's Julie. Um, listen I've been ringing for the last ten minutes and erm it's really important and I really need to speak to you. So erm if you're busy I'll just ring back later."  
_

She quickly jumped down the last remaining steps feeling like a child again.

"Emilia!" A woman's voice called out. She turned around and saw the old woman who lived in one of the apartments on the bottom floor.

"Hello Mrs. Adela."

The old fortune teller raised a hand covered in bangles and different beads and waved her off. Her big hoop earrings shook with her.

"Oh, I haven't been a 'Mrs' in a long time." She shuffled over to her and clutched her arm onto Emilias. She noticed how her pale skin stood out against Ms. Adela's tanned wrinkles.

That's when it happened again, just like it had before with Erik, Charles and Raven.

The veins on her arms turned a sickly purple. Her throat began to choke up and she couldn't breathe.

Emilia saw her reflection in window and saw her face now had ugly prominent purple veins running through it.

The room started to spin around her, her legs began to feel weak and she started to stumble away from the elderly lady.

"Emilia?" A flash of images went through her head as she crashed down onto the cool floor.

_She saw a unfamiliar woman walked out of the university holding a large umbrella. The scene changed and it was the exact same person asking someone else for help._

_Emilia then saw herself, except she was different. Instead of her dark brown hair, she had blonde hair, just as white as snow. Although, Emilia didn't appear to look that old, it seemed as though she was a couple of years older than she already was now. _

_The Emilia she saw had tears flowing down her cheeks and was looking behind her, watching something or someone in horror. _

"Emilia!"

She was pulled out of her trance. Opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with Charles. He was kneeling down on the floor next to her and holding on to both of her shoulders tightly. He looked at her with worry written all over his face.

"Emilia, are you alright?"

She raised her hand to her red face and wiped her damp forehead. She looked down and saw that her right hand was clutched tightly onto his arm, most likely leaving marks.

"Emilia?"

She looked up at Charles and nodded. His eyes darted around her face, searching to see if she was telling the truth.

"I'm fine," she spoke whilst moving her hand onto his shoulder.

He nodded back at her, putting his arm around her waist while she placed her own around his neck as he pulled her up. She looked back at Ms. Adela and saw her watching them in shock. He wrapped his arm around her and lead her out to the car waiting for them.

"Ms. Adela?" She began to ask once they were outside. He interrupted her question and answered.  
"Mutant." He helped her into the car.

That was all she needed to know.

-o-

"Professor of Genetics, Charles Francis Xavier."

Emilia and Raven cheered and clapped the loudest out of everyone in the entire room.

Emilia was beyond proud of him, she couldn't stop beaming throughout the entire thing. When they announced his name she felt a certain fuzzy feeling and the well of pride.

Throughout the ceremony she had started seeing visions again. They weren't anything big, just what people were doing. She had Ravens hand to hold onto and squeeze, so each time Raven would be able to snap her out of it. Luckily, she didn't zone out when they called out his name.

Afterwards, when he came down to see her and Raven, she couldn't stop herself from dashing towards him and flinging her arms around him, pulling him into her for a hug.

"I'm so proud of you!" She squeezed him tight against her. He chuckled at her.  
"Thank you." She let go of him by just a touch so she could look up at him.

"I love you."

Although they had said it to each other before, this time she was absolutely certain that she meant it.

He grinned as he met her lips. She quickly closed her eyes and put her hands on both sides of his cheeks while his stayed respectfully at the bottom of her back. Her hands found their way around his neck and his pulled her even closer.

When they both pulled away, they were nose to nose and both red in the face from Raven's annoyed side comments.

"And, I love you." He eventually replied. She beamed up at him and moved away to let Raven congratulate him.

-o-

Charles' hand was wrapped around her waist as they walked out of the university. He held the umbrella up for the three of them as they walked, Raven held onto his umbrella arm, while his right arm felt at home around Emilia.

_Home_, she thought, Charles' face immediately came into her mind. She smiled to herself thinking of it.

"So, how does it feel to be a Professor?" Raven asked.  
"Oh, don't call me that." Charles said in protest. "You don't get to be called a Professor until you actually have a teaching job position." Emilia smiled looking up at Charles.

"Which, you will get in no time." He rolled his eyes at her compliment with a smile also on his face. Raven carried on.  
"I know but it suits you."

"Oh don't say that." Light rain drops began to fall onto her feet.  
"If you say so Professor." She teased him while skipping forward a couple of steps in a happy mood.

"I said not to call me that." Emilia looked back at Charles.  
"What are you going to do?" A sly smile came onto her face. "Are you going to give me a detention, Professor?" He gave her a look and played along with her as Raven laughed.

"Not with Raven in the room, anyway," Raven cried out in protest while Emilia laughed at Charles' comment. "Please don't call me professor again, but do say _'let's go have a drink then'_."

"Let's go have a drink then!" Raven spoke as Emilia hopped down the concrete stairs. She rested her head against his arm as he pulled her in closer to his side.

Throughout their walk to the pub, none of them noticed the slim woman with the large umbrella closely trailing after them.

-o-

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!"

They all chanted for Charles to down the drink inside the long tube. Emilia and Raven were part of the crowd surrounding Charles, egging him on. When the last drops went into his mouth, both her and Raven cheered and clapped for him. Raven put her arms up above her head and jumped up and down shouting while Emilia shouted.

Although Emilia was the smallest, the most noise came out of her. After wiping the leftover drink from his mouth, Charles cheered and shouted back at everyone in his success.

Emilia laughed at his antics and raised her arm to steady him when he came down from the table. Raven went to him and hugged him first.

"Oh I'm so proud of you." She let go of him and let Emilia hug him.

"Thank you," Charles said to her for the hundredth time that day. After letting go of Emilia, he put his arms around both of them. "We need another drink," He turned from Emilia to Raven. "And you need another Cola."

Raven hid her disappointment well at the choice of drink and sat down at their table with Emilia. There was a comfortable silence between them, both of them just watching people around them.

Emilia fidgeted in her seat and started to pick at the seams of her white dress. Thankfully her hair had stayed up in the ponytail, with her hair out the way of her dress, it showed off the purple flowers sewn onto the front of her dress better.

She looked over at the bar and found the blonde girl yesterday waiting there.

"Amy's back." She spoke to Raven. Raven turned and saw her.

"You have nothing to worry about." They watched as Charles made his way over to her. Before he made it, another woman stepped in his way and took the attention off Amy. "Okay, maybe now you do." Raven said to Emilia. They both watched as she congratulated him on his presentation.

"Who is she?" Raven asked. She turned to Emilia and gave her a pleading look, she knew what Raven was secretly asking.

She closed her eyes and quickly zoned in on the stranger. She spoke aloud as she gathered the information from her mind.

"Her names Moira MacTaggert and she works for the CIA." Raven looked back at the now seated Moira and Charles.

"What does the CIA want with Charles?" As he was mentioned, Charles started to call both of them other.

"I don't know," Emilia answered as she got out of her chair. They both quickly walked over to Moira and Charles. Charles raised his hand out to Emilia, she gently took it and he sweetly placed it on his shoulder.

"Moira, this is Emilia Jones and my sister Raven," Emilia greeted her quickly and shook hands. "Emilia, Raven, this is Moira MacTaggert."

"It's nice to meet you," Emilia spoke politely. Moira smiled back.  
"And you," she looked back at Charles, continuing their conversation. "I really need your help." Charles pulled a face, slightly confused by what she needed.

"All right." The smile was now gone from her face.

"The kind of mutations that you were talking about in your thesis. I need to know if they may have already happened, in people alive today."

Charles looked up at Emilia and gave her a slight nod, motioning her to do what she had just done minutes ago. She closed her eyes and concentrated again on Moira, she knew Charles would be doing the same.

In Moira's memories, Emilia saw a woman turn into a diamond version of herself, a man who resembled the devil and a face that vaguely reminded her of a drawing that had been hung in Erik's old room.

No, it couldn't be him, it shouldn't be him. He should be old and frail or even, if Erik had his way, dead by now.

It couldn't be Klaus Schmidt… could it?

Moira disrupted both of them from looking any further.

"Professor? I think we should just talk when you're sober. Do you have any time tomorrow?" Emilia looked down at Charles who was immediately staring up at her.

She nodded at him, silently telling him that she had seen exactly what he'd seen and looked back at Moira.

"Something tells me you already know the answer to your question," Moira glanced up from Charles to Emilia who was still staring at her. "This is very important to me, and if I can help you, I will do my utmost."

"Thank you." Moira smiled at both of them.

At that moment, another wave of visions unfortunately overcame her.

_Men were shooting at something or someone, the sound of gunshots rang through out the air. She saw Raven with a group of strangers and she was hysterically crying._

_"My friends," a man spoke. "There's a revolution coming."_

_Oh, Charles, s_he thought to herself._ what have you gotten us into?_

* * *

Oh my god I'm so sorry, this chapter is absolutely terrible. I'm sorry for the lack of detail, this is one chapter I hate. Sorry this isn't as long as the last one as well!

_**Trailer - **_ watch?v=SiK-Fd-zp3M&amp;list=UUzQhOX8DB1OmhjatIbwgqfA__

Thanks to:  
**_MoiraeaNoir  
Rawr-You-Sexy-Trex-You _**_ (I think I'm in love with your name!)  
**RedUnicorns**  
**SilverWildRiver**  
**loufromearth**  
**penisland homeboy**  
**0Cloudless0  
BeckyBoo12221  
Evenlight  
LuckyAsLockhart  
NightStalkerblade  
lt199798  
turn turn turn  
pieces in their games  
JeanMadeleine**_

SPECIAL THANKS TO:  
My ever faithful reviewer, lovestory2055. - Yes, but there might be some less than happy moments along the way ;)  
IKhandoZatman - First Class has officially began :D  
To the two guest reviewers - Both of you make an account, I would love to chat to everyone who reviews this!

_BTW I HAVE MADE A TRAILER FOR THIS IF ANYONE WANTS TO WATCH IT I'LL ATTACH A LINK SO YOU GUYS CAN WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE LATER!_

**_I WON'T UPDATE UNTIL I GET 9 OR 10 REVIEWS. I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IT YET AND THIS STORY HAS LOTS OF FOLLOWERS/FAVOURITES ALREADY BUT I DO NEED MORE REVIEWS TO SEE PEOPLES VIEWS ON THE STORY SO I HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT PEOPLE WANT._**

Thank you and all your reviews really cheered me up! :)

An easier link is on my profile if anyone has problems getting to it on here!


	5. Sense of Dread

**_"I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it._**

**_Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter_**

* * *

**CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia.**

"The advent of the nuclear age may have accelerated the mutation process. Individuals with extraordinary abilities may already be among us."

Emilia listened, intrigued by Charles' presentation about mutation to CIA Director McCone, William Stryker and a small group of CIA employees.  
"Thank you very much." As he finished, he walked over and sat down in the chair next to Emilia.

They had been there since eight am and it wasn't getting any better. They had to fly over in a plane for a start, which was all 'conveniently' paid for by the CIA/Moira.

The flight was silent on Emilia's part, not only because it was her first time ever on a plane, but her new found ability would randomly shut her down and place her in lock down mode.

She had seen strange things, a huge ship, metal coming out of water and the diamond womam.

She had gotten used to the before and after effects of her psychic abilities on the eight hour flight. She could now tell when a vision was coming, it would come towards her slowly and then all at once, and she'd be stuck there, like a deer in headlights, defenceless and unable to move.

Charles was seated next to her and luckily he would calm her down every single time.

Thankfully, during the presentation, she had seen nothing.

Charles' presentation was detailed and she found parts of it hard to understand (most likely because she struggled with science), but it was still incredible.

McCone and Stryker may even have understood it _if_ they had bothered listening to what Charles was even saying.

She glared at the two middle aged men, not particularly liking what they were now thinking about Charles.

"MacTaggert, you really think that some crackpot scientist is going to make me believe in sparkly dames and vanishing men?" McCone asked.

Emilia sighed and turned away from the CIA director in her seat. She felt Charles watching her and shifted slightly again.

"You just bought yourself a one-way ticket back to the typing pool." He slammed his folder shut with all his paperwork in, he spared a look over to Charles and Emilia. "This meeting is over."

Moira began to stand up and argue her case when Charles stopped her.

"Please, sit down, Agent MacTaggert" Moira hesitated for a moment before doing as she was told. He now turned to McCone. "I didn't really expect you to believe me, given that all you could think about during my presentation was what sort of pie they were serving in the commissary."  
_  
"Apple Pecan."_ She spoke in Charles' mind. After hearing McCone's thoughts, she had searched for herself to see what they had made in commissary. Charles gave a quick wink to Emilia before looking back at McCone.

"It's Apple Pecan." He gave an apologetic look over to Moira, who was professionally clad in black. "I haven't been entirely honest with you, love. I'm sorry."

Emilia took a quick breath, knowing what he was going to do. She began to fiddle with the visitor badge which was pinned onto her white blouse, the three of them had been made to wear it when they had entered earlier.

"You see, one of the many spectacular things my mutation allows me to do is that I can read your mind."

"I've seen this before in a magic show." Stryker said to McCone, not believing him. However, McCone stared at Charles with an unreadable expression on his face. "Are you going to ask us to think of a number between one and 10 now?" Stryker attempted to mock Charles.

However, Charles gave out a short laugh before getting to the point.

"No, Agent Stryker. Although, I could ask you about your son William, who you were thinking about, which is very nice. But I think I'd rather ask you about the Jupiter missiles America are currently placing in Turkey."

All members of the CIA at the table stared at each other, eyes wide open in shock. McCone turned accusingly at Moira as he picked up the phone in front of him at an unnatural speed.

"He's a goddamn spy. You brought a goddamned spy into this facility!" They began to argue between themselves, all blaming Moira.

"He's going to ring security," Emilia said to Charles, beginning to panic.

He held onto her hand and gave it a small squeeze in reassurance. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden movement caught the corner of both of their eyes.

The place where Raven once stood was now taken by an exact replica of Stryker. There was a hush of silence in the room, everyone, apart from Charles and Emilia, had their mouths gaped open in astonishment.

Emilia watched them all as Raven turned into her natural form, everyone's eyes popped open even more at the young woman's blue body. Charles looked away from Raven to Stryker.

"How's that for a magic trick?" While neither Stryker nor McCone answered, a man at the back of the room spoke.

"Best I've ever seen."

She hadn't noticed him before. He wore thick framed glasses accompanied with a black suit, his hair was combed back and his potbelly was easy to see from where she sat. Emilia looked up at Raven, making sure she was okay.

"So you can change your appearance," The man in the suit stated to Raven. He then turned to Charles. "And you can read people's minds," He then fixed his attention on her. "What can you do?"

Ever so slowly, she tore her gaze away from Raven. She turned and saw that all of their eyes were on her. She panicked slightly before feeling Charles' thumb rub against her the back of her hand.

"I, erm, I can do lots of things," She looked up at all of them on the table. "I mimic the mutations of others. So I'm also able to read minds and change my appearance because of it."

She noticed the long metal fountain pen that McCone had next to him. She focused on itand quickly felt the rope of energy wrap itself around the metal. Automatically it lifted itself into the air towards her, she never took her eyes off it.

When the pen reached her, she let it drop onto the table in front of her as she tried to fight the light dizziness that came whenever she used the mutation given to her.

"I also control metal."

McCone stared at her for a couple of seconds before speaking slowly through his shock.

"I want them out of here and locked down until I can figure out what to do."

The trio looked at each other, he couldn't do this to them, treat them as if they were some kind of animals that needed to be trapped in a cage.

Her hand tightened underneath Charles', his thumb continued to stroke the top of her hand to calm her down.

"My facility is off-site." The unnamed man in the corner offered. "I'll take them."

-o-

He led them outside into the main parking garage as she still held onto Charles' left hand.

She glanced to her right and saw him putting his two fingers to the side of his head, contacting Moira. Her left hand was deep in her grey tweed coat pocket, shaking.

How come she was the only one who seemed nervous? They were being taken off to some facility like they were some lab rats. She also was the only one who appeared to even be listening to the excited man in between them.

"I've always known that there were people like you out there. I've been the laughing stock of this agency for years, but I knew it!"

She looked up and smiled politely at him, which he returned. He spoke mostly to her now, knowing that the others were only half-interested.

"You are going to love my facility."

Charles took his hand from his temple and put it into his grey coat pocket.

"That's going to have to wait." The man on her left turned to Charles, who had just spoken for the first time since they had been in the garage.  
"Why?" _'Black Suit'_ asked. Emilia saw a black car heading towards them.

"Agent MacTaggert has a lead on Sebastian Shaw and if we don't move now, apparently, we're going to lose him."

Emilia stopped as he mentioned Shaw. Only then did she realise that she didn't actually know who this 'Sebastian Shaw' was.

"What?" The CIA officer looked confusedly at Charles, not understanding how he could have just spoken to Moira.

"Not only can he read minds," Raven remarked, speaking for Charles as they opened the doors to the car that had just pulled up beside them. "He can communicate with them as well."

Emilia stood by the back door, letting Raven go into the car first.

"Moira and I have just had a lovely conversation."  
"Yes, we did." Moira chimed in with Charles from the driver's seat. The elder man turned to Emilia.  
"And you can do that as well?" She nodded as she slid into the leather car seat.

"Everything they can do I can do," She looked down at the floor of the car in embarrassment as she admitted the next part. "Except at more of a weaker scale." The officer looked between Charles and her.

"Incredible!" Charles chuckled at him in response. The man suddenly seemed to come to his CIA senses and backed away from him with his arms slightly in the air.

"But I cannot take you anywhere else without permission from upstairs." Charles calmly looked up at him.

"Would you like to see one more magic trick?" He put his hands down as Charles raised his two fingers to his temple yet again.

"Okay."  
"Get in the car."  
"Good idea."

-o-

It was an hour into the drive when things started to get worse.

The visions were okay at first, they were good ones, ones that made her smile when seeing. But soon they became unpleasant. When it happened again, she recognised two people.

_She watched as a man in a black swimsuit came out of hiding and launched himself at an older figure. The woman soon began to torture him telepathically after disarming him, making him fall onto the floor, undefended in his weakness._

_That's when she saw him. Klaus Schmidt stood there, unaged and sadistic. He presumed to speak in German, unfortunately for her, she didn't understand a word he was saying, but, she did hear him say the name of the man kneeling in front of him._

_"Erik Lensherr."_

_Her heart started to pound frightfully hard against her chest in terror for him as she watched the diamond woman throw him out of the ship and deep into the waters surrounding, not knowing if he was ever going to come back up._

When it ended, she opened her eyes to see that she was crouched down in her seat, holding her head in her hands and gasping for breath.

"Emilia?" Raven put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah?" Raven placed another hand on top of hers to stop it from shaking.

"You were just shouting." Emilia looked around and saw that Moira had stopped the car and everyone was staring at her.

She felt her cheeks go red from embarrassment as she hung her head down low, letting her hair fall into her face. As she stared down in shame at her bright orange pencil skirt, she heard Charles opening the passenger door and getting out.

"What are you doing?" Moira called after him. He didn't reply and went over to the other CIA officer's door and opened it.

"We're switching seats." The older man nervously readjusted his glasses as he answered.

"Okay." He got out from beside her and switched with Charles. When he got in, he instantly wrapped his arms around her. She immediately fell into him. He began to lightly draw circles on her back to calm her down.

One of the many great things about Charles? He could always make her feel better.

"What did you see?" He asked as Moira began to drive again, Emilia could tell that she was unhappy with Charles moving seats.

She dug her head further into Charles' chest. The nerves that she was feeling before began to crawl back into the pits of her stomach. She had to cough the lump of that had just formed in her throat out before speaking.

"He's back." She whispered. He frowned at her in confusion.

"Who?" Charles asked. "Who's back? Emilia, who did you see?" She looked downcast at her feet, there were so many different answers to that question.

She could tell him it was Erik, tell him about the relationship, and tell him who Erik was. But then she realised, she didn't know who Erik was any more. That wasn't the Erik she knew, her Erik was kind, not a murderer.

She answered with what she thought was the truth.

"I don't know."

-o-

"This is the US Coast Guard, do not attempt to move your vessel. Stay where you are!"

They could all hear the coast guard's warnings to the ship opposite them. It was dark out and although she was mostly covered up, she was freezing.

She rubbed her arms with her hands, attempting to warm herself up. She shuffled from side to side impatiently as she stared up at the sky, no stars stood out against the cloak of darkness filling the night.

As a child, she had once imagined the sky as one of those curtains that you would find in a theatre. The opening act would be the sun rising in the morning, when the day would end someone would close the curtains and the moon would begin its final act for the night.

She was very disappointed when she had been taught about how the earth orbited the sun and the moon forever circled the earth, her belief had been shattered in front of her.

She stood next to Charles as he tried to use his telepathic powers to get to Shaw. Moira and black suit were behind them, watching Charles to see if he had any progress.

They had originally wanted her to find Shaw, with her psychic abilities, they had thought that she'd have a closer link with him. Eventually, she had convinced them that his telepathic abilities were stronger than hers. That was the main problem with her mutation, the powers she'd absorb would never be as strong as the original owners.

As she tapped her shoes against the floor, entertaining herself watching the big bows on them flap around. She was quickly drawn out of her thoughts as Charles spoke.

"I've lost Shaw," She could tell by his voice he was struggling. He repeated himself again, more in slight shock then anything. "I've lost Shaw," He kept his two fingers against his temple.

"There's something blocking me. This has only ever happened to me once before." A smirk came onto her face knowing that she was the first.

"I think there's someone like me and Emilia on that ship." Moira looked at confusedly.

"Like you?" Charles put his hand down.  
"I'm sorry, a telepath. This is incredible. I could actually feel her inside my mind."

"What about you?" The man in the black suit asked her. "Can you get in?" She sighed and turned to him.

"If Charles can't do it then there's no way I'll be able to."  
"I'm very sorry," Charles said to Moira and _'Black Suit'_. "But I don't think we're going to be much help tonight. You're on your own."

They continued to watch Shaw's boat, with the coast guards advancing nearer, she wondered if any of the mutants on that boat would harm any of the humans.

As that thought came to mind, a small tornado came from the boat and into the guards, turning their boats over and dragging them down into the cold water.

"Oh, my God." She heard Charles exclaim as her mouth dropped open in shock.

"It was one of the mutants on Shaw's boat." She remarked to the three next to her.

"Get inside." She felt Charles take her hand and the man in the suit push her towards him as they went to safety. She stared behind her as they took her down the white steps inside the huge boat.

She stopped and looked out of one of the small passing windows in the staircase, unknowingly looking for _him_.

She instantly found what she was searching for and found Erik's head breaking out of the water. The sense of dread filled her as she stared at him, instantly feeling all of his emotions and thoughts due to Charles' _'wonderful'_ mutation.

She winced at Erik's anger, hatred and obsession for the man.

That's when it clicked.  
_Emilia you idiot, Schmidt is Shaw._

The visions had been blurry and she had assumed that the boat he was on was somewhere far away as Shaw had been speaking German.

"What are you doing Erik?" She whispered quietly to herself.

"Charles!" She then shouted. She looked down the stairs and found that they had already began to descend down them without her. He whipped back around and saw her staring out of the window.

"Emilia what are you doing? We have to go." She dashed down the stairs to him.

"Charles, there's someone else out there." She then realised how small the staircase was as she joined them and found out how cramped together they were. She stood opposite Charles and looked up at him. "Listen," she told him.

He swiftly raised his two fingers to his head. When he did find Erik, he fell against the wall from the amount of pain and rage that had come with Erik's strong emotions.

As Moira shouted out for him, Emilia instantly went to Charles and put her arm under him in support.

After he had recovered, Charles latched onto the door handle next to him and marched out. Emilia quickly came out right after him and they were both followed by the others.

She rushed past Charles and pointed them all in the direction to where she had just seen Erik who may or may not need their help.

"There!" She directed as they all began to crowd around the railings. She watched in horror as a metal anchor was lifted high above the ship.

"Are you doing that?" The middle aged man came beside her and stared open-mouthed at the scene in front of him.

"No," she replied.

She then raised her hand towards it and felt the tingle of warmth go down her back. She felt herself reach out to the metal and wrap herself around it as she called out to him.

"Now I am."

She pulled the anchor towards them, away from the Shaw's boat. Straight away, she felt the strain of the amount of metal she was pulling, she had never done this much before and Charles knew it.

He looked at her, worried, and was about to tell her to stop before the CIA officer encouraged her.

"That's amazing! Try get it back into the water without him moving it." Charles sent a sharp glare over to him, he hastily shut up after that.

"You don't have to do this Emilia," Charles told her. She didn't answer and continued to concentrate on the anchor. When he spoke again she raised her other hand underneath the pressure of the heavy metal.

"Just stop if it's too much!" She didn't reply again as they all watched in amazement as the anchor slowly started to come back down into the ocean.

"He knows it's you controlling the anchor, Emilia." She then gasped underneath the sudden weight of the anchor.

After realising that someone was tampering with his plans, Erik began to yank the anchor back up to where she had begun. With the little hold she had on the metal, she desperately tried taking back the control she had just lost.

"Charles, I can't, I can't hold on any longer."

Her legs had begun to feel weak and her head had began to throb.

"Just let go," he replied softly. And she did.

When she released her grip on the metal, she watched as it dropped down slightly towards the ship but was lifted up again, now under Erik's control. It lifted higher and higher into the air, she didn't realise Charles' arm was around her until the anchor dropped.

It came soaring down faster than anything she had ever seen before, a huge gasp escaped her mouth as the anchor began to smash through the boat as it descended downwards.

Not satisfied with the destruction he had done, Erik controlled the chain of the anchor to wrap itself around the boat.

"Oh God no," She spoke out loud to herself. "Erik, what have you done?"

She felt Charles' eyes tear itself away from the chain crashing through an entire floor of the vessel and go onto her. Moira also seemed to notice her comment.

"You know him?" Emilia couldn't take her eyes from the destruction in front of her to face the woman next to her.

"I did," she wrapped her arms around herself as a sudden chill went through her. "At least, I think I did." Moira's hair had started to fall out of its short ponytail.

"What is he to you?" She quickly found Erik's floating head bobbing up and down out of the water, she spoke quickly.

"He's… he's my ex."

Due to the sudden movement of the chain trying to swing the anchor back around, the anchor had snapped off the chain as it failed to wrap around the corner of the ship. The chains dropped down lifelessly into the water.

"Well he looks real pissed." She and Moira both turned to her fellow co-worker standing next to them who had decided to speak up.

Before they could say anything, all of their attention was focused onto a distant rumbling sound from under Shaws ship. Underneath the water, they could vaguely see the outline of what she thought to be a type of submarine swim rapidly towards them.

Emilia turned to Moira.

"Shaw's gone." Moira's eyes widened at the sight below.  
"So has he."

Erik had begun to zoom across the water, using his ability with metal to take him after Shaw.

"He's going to get himself killed." She cried out to the others.

Charles ran to the edge of the rail, right in front of a diving station.

"LET GO!" He shouted to Erik, who was advancing towards them. "YOU HAVE TO LET IT GO!"

Charles turned to the CIA associates, his face full of worry for the stranger.

"You have to help him, you've got to put someone in the water to help him!"

Emilia looked down at Erik in the water, he was going to be underneath the vessel in a couple of seconds. She was surprised at how fast he was going as Charles carried on shouting down to him.

"He's not going to stop," She stated to him as she hung slightly over the railings watching Erik. "He won't stop unless someone goes down there."

Charles gave her a side glance before they both looked back down, Erik had just went under the ship and was recklessly swimming faster. Her heart began to speed up.

"He's going to drown!"

She felt Charles leave her side. She spun around and watched as he sprinted to the other side of the ship. Knowing his motives, she began to charge after him.

"Charles!" She yelled as she bumped into people trying to keep up with him.

As she called out to him again, Emilia watched helplessly as he dived off the side of the ship after Erik.

"CHARLES!" She shrieked as she watched him plunge into the icy cold depths below.

She felt her heart lurch up into her throat as she pounded to the edge and began to scream after him. Her hands clutched onto the cool metal, trying to support her legs which had turned into rubber.

What if he got hurt? What if the boat hit him? What if he drowned?

Someone forcefully wrapped their arms around her waist and pulled her away from the railings in fear that she'd also jump in.

She twisted around in their grip and found herself face to face with one of the coast guards.

"You need to get someone down there right now, there are two men in the water!" She commanded as he began to drag her inside.

"We're doing the best we can ma'am." She was led into a room, which, like the rest of the boat, was covered in white.

She felt tears begin to sting her eyes as she bit down hard on her nail, her breathing began to come out faster and heavier in her wild panic.

Moira soon came and informed her that she had sent out a rescue boat for both Charles and Erik. She was offered teas and coffees but turned them all down.

Eventually, Moira, worried for Emilia's panicked state, ordered her to have tea and took her big tweed coat off her. Sooner or later she managed to take a sip out of it, but Moira didn't notice her recoiling from the foul taste and tipping it into a flower pot.

When they told her that Charles was safely on board, she quickly raced out of the large room after Moira.

"Your coat!" Someone called out but she ignored them and carried on.

She found him on the top deck, shivering and soaked to the bone.

"Emilia!" He rejoiced when he saw her. His arms were outstretched towards her as she met his smiling face. She nearly swooned before realising how angry she was at him.

She met him halfway and swung her arms around his neck as she hugged him.

_He's okay, _she told herself, _he's alive and he's okay._ She quickly pulled herself away from his touch and began to promptly hit him.

"You... bloody... idiot!" She fumed as she repeatedly slapped him on the arm with each word. "You could have gotten yourself hurt, or... or even worse!" He held her arms away from him to stop her onslaught.

"But I didn't." She struggled against his hold as she continued to rant.  
"But you could have!" He swiftly wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her in closer against his soaking wet body.

"I'm fine, it's all alright now." She held on tighter to him, not caring about him making her clothes wet.

"Please don't do that to me again." He smiled down at her and kissed her on the top of the head.

"I promise." She broke away again and looked down at her clothes. She sighed as she looked at the newly formed wet patch on her front, making it easy to see through the front of her blouse, Charles chuckled at the patch and put his fingers between hers.

As she was about to make a comment, someone interrupted her.

"Emilia?"

The sense of dread filled her again just like earlier as she looked up at the man who the voice belonged to. She had forgotten that he was there, all of her attention had been devoted to Charles.

There were bags under his eyes made him look older, his hair had grown longer by a couple of inches and he appeared to have lost some weight.

His eyes stared confusedly at her, wondering why she was there. She found herself biting down on her bottom lip, trying to control the lump rising in her throat.

She took a quick intake of breath before replying.

"Erik."

* * *

I would have uploaded this sooner but the website decided to mess up as I was editing it so I threw a hissy fit. Anyways here we go:

**Thank you to all of these awesome people for favoriting/following:**

_CandyCornQueen, JeanMadeleine, ElleBelleGirl, downwiththegames, paintingflowerrs, LoverGirl007, , Lumiere01, HeyIt'sTori, mangadragon10122, downwiththegames, supergirlpixie, Cardinala, DarkShimmer30, ngome055, _

**Extra special thanks to these awesome reviewers: **

shika93, _Guest no.1, Guest no.2, Guest no.3 _

___lovestory2055 - I know, although it is amazing to have so much support it is slightly discomforting to not know what people really think of the chapters. Haha I think everyone is rooting for them but now that Erik is back in the story everything's going to be different. Hmm I was tempted to make Emilia be the one to jump in to the water after Erik but I thought that it would come across as making her steal Charles' limelight. But I will definitely take it into consideration. Thank you for all your reviews, yours are the ones I especially look out for! :) x_

_ LuckyAsLockhart - Haha thank you! I find that most X-men OC's come across as rude? Idk why. Thank you so much for your kind reviews, your reviews are the ones I look out for the most as well! Haha _

I'll upload/start the next chapter when there's 18/20 reviews!x

I've also updated and re did the prologue so if you guys want to go back and check it out that'd be great!


	6. Speak of The Devil

**_"Love is sweet, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature."_**  
**_-_**  
**_Lyanna Stark to Eddard Stark,  
'A Game Of Thrones' by George R. R. Martin._**

* * *

-o-

"You're sure you have no feelings towards him?"

Emilia sighed looking up at Charles, spending the last hour reassuring him about her feelings had not exactly been her plans for the morning. When they'd come back from the failed mission to track down Shaw yesterday, he had begun to act differently.  
Especially in front of Erik.  
Instead of not being publicly affectionate like usual, he became closer to her, occasionally kissing her on top of the head, and casually wrapping an arm around her waist. When they'd come back to the hotel room that Moira had for them, he started to ask questions about her and Erik.  
_'Were you happy with him? Did you love him? Do you still love him?'_

She shivered slightly at the soft breeze coming through the hotel rooms open balcony doors.  
"How many times do I have to tell you?" She said while crawling toward him at the foot of the bed. When she reached Charles, she pushed herself up onto her knees to reach his height. "I love you and only you." She straightened his suit top, trying not to make eye contact with him as she realised how cringe worthy her statement had sounded.

Sometimes, she thought Charles to be quite full of himself, cocky and uncaring, but, that was mostly when she was either mad or he was drunk. In actual fact, in moments like this, he revealed himself to be much less confident than he actually was.

She felt her cheeks quickly blush at her own words and her stomach did a small flip inside as she hung her head down slightly. Her fingers fiddled with each other until he scooped her hands up into his own. She looked back up and met his blue eyes as he held both of her hands close to his chest.  
"You promise?" She smiled up at him with assurance.  
"I promise." The corners of his mouth began to rise as he pulled her lightly against him. She felt goose bumps brake out on her skin as her chest gently met his, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. His lips were soft against her own. He wrapped his arms around her waist as her hands found their place buried in his hair. She heard birds chirping outside as her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, she could stay here all day, just with him and she'd be happy.

He groaned softly against her touch before he pulled away, she raised an eyebrow at him in confusion but still kept her arms around his shoulders.  
"Moira's picking us up at twelve," He tried to fix his now messy hair, curtesy of Emilia, without a mirror. Emilia rolled her eyes at the mention of today's plans. She fell back onto the bed as he continued. "You've got an hour to get ready." She laid against the white duvet, her black underwear standing out even more against the pale colours surrounding her.  
"I thought I'd go like this," She teased. "I plan to catch their attention." Charles walked away and into the room's bathroom, she turned her head to the right and watched as he redid his hair.  
_'One day it's all going to fall out with the way you keep fussing over it.'_ She had teased him one day back in Oxford, he wouldn't let her touch his hair for two weeks before she insisted that she meant no future harm to his beloved hair.  
"You've certainly caught mine." He replied. She grinned uncontrollably to herself before calling out to him again.  
"I'd like to leave a lasting impression before we go back to Oxford." He didn't reply.

She lifted herself up ever so slowly. Uncomfortable with the silence, she spoke again.  
"We're going back to Oxford by the end of this week… right?" She watched as he walked out slowly from the bathroom, his eyes not meeting hers. She lifted her legs over the bed to let them dangle off and looked down at the cheap carpet. "They're not letting us leave, are they?" He came over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  
"We'll go home soon, I promise." She nodded slowly to him and he kissed her on top of the head. As she went to change, she couldn't help a nagging feeling at the back of her head. _Oxford isn't my home_, she thought to herself as she pulled a dress down over her head.  
_'If Oxford isn't your home,'_ a voice piped up, _'then what is?'_  
She didn't appear an answer.

**COVERT CIA RESEARCH BASE**

The base was huge and men dressed in suits were scattered everywhere around it. Bare white trees were lined in front of the centre and they shared their space with small green bushes, the dark panels of glass in the front of the building made it unable to view the inside interior and the cream walls seemed to glisten softly underneath the sun.  
She was wedged in the back of Moira's car with Charles, Raven and Erik. After the little problem of there being only five seats with six people, the four of them had to make do with being squished against each other. Charles had of course offered for her to sit on his lap during the ride which she would have gladly accepted if Moira hadn't said that she'd be distracted by Emilia's head being in the way of the window. _'Maybe next time.' _Charles had said with a wink to Emilia causing her to giggle and Erik to watch with an unreadable expression. So she sat in between Raven and Charles, while Erik sat by the door on the left hand side. When Charles opened the door for her, she quickly scampered out, not being able to handle staying in the uncomfortable space any longer. She walked forward a couple of steps, leaving Charles and Raven behind her. Emilia gazed up in curiosity at the building, wondering what they did in there and mostly what they would do to them.  
"Welcome to my facility." The man in the black suit spoke to them as they all looked up at base, he began to walk forward as he continued. "My mission has been to investigate the application of paranormal powers in military defence." She hung at the back of the group letting the others go before her.  
"Or offense." Erik added. She slightly turned her body to him, she wanted to get into his head, see why he was still here and why he hadn't left yet. She raised an eyebrow at him as he turned to meet her stare. His hair was styled the same way he used to wear it, he looked the same, still healthy and strong, and a bit tanned. His eyes were hidden underneath a pair of sunglasses, making it unable to see if he was regarding her with a glare or not. She had made a promise to not go into his mind and she was already beginning to regret it.  
"This guy Shaw, Schmidt, whatever you want to call him, he's working with the Russians." He broke the stare and latched onto the older man's information about Shaw. The sick reminder that Shaw had always been more important to him than she ever was brewed in her head. "We might need your help to stop him." Charles began to speak with a certain tone to his voice.  
"Marvellous." He looked away from the building and back at the CIA officer. "So we're to be the CIA's new mutant division, yes?" She sighed to herself as _'Black suit' _replied.  
"Something like that."

-o-

After having a mini tour around the facility, they were sent into a large room with a model space craft hanging from the ceiling. It was remarkable for just a model, Emilia presumed that it had taken years to think of an idea like it.  
"It's a supersonic," A young man came towards them from a small lab in the corner of the room, he wore a white lab coat over his smart clothes and his blue eyes were hidden underneath his glasses.  
"The most advanced plane ever built. You should see it in real life, it's incredible." She continued staring up at the plane as the CIA officer introduced them.  
"Hank, these are the special new recruits I was telling you about," She smirked at the word 'special'. She turned her head to him as _'Black Suit'_ introduced the young man. "This is Hank McCoy, one of our most talented young researchers." She didn't need to read Charles' mind to tell that he was beyond ecstatic to meet him. He walked forward with a spring in his step and a huge smile as he brought his hand out to greet him. She watched from in-between Raven and Erik as Charles spoke.  
"How wonderful. Another mutant, already here." Hanks smile dropped as Charles' words, the CIA officer looked confusedly at him. Charles turned around to _'Black Suit'_. "Why didn't you say?" The elder paused with his hands in his pockets, not knowing what Charles meant.  
"Say what?" Emilia focused her attention away from the scene and gave an awkward cough as she dug her hands into her leather jackets pockets. Leaning back against the railings, she spared a glance back at Hank feeling sorry for him. Charles quickly figured it out.  
"Because you don't know," He turned back to Hank with an apologetic look on his face. "I am so, so terribly sorry." Hank shook his head at him to show that it was alright as _'Black Suit' _made his way over.

"Hank?" The younger looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.  
"You didn't ask, so I didn't tell." Raven stepped forward, leaving Emilia on her own next to Erik.  
"So, your mutation is what? You're super smart?" Emilia grinned to herself as she noticed Hanks reaction to her friend, he looked as if he was in slight shock due to her speaking to him.  
"I'll say," Charles spoke for him. "Hank here graduated Harvard at the age of 15." Now it was Emilia's turn to be in slight shock.  
"Whoa, that's… that's amazing," Hank broke eye contact with Raven for a second to give her a small smile of gratitude before looking back at Raven and answering her question.  
"I wish that's all it was." Everyone, apart from her and Erik, began to crowd around him. She crossed her arms in front of her.  
"You're among friends now, Hank, you can show off." Charles reassured him. She wasn't able to see what was happening due to the four people surrounding him, she lifted herself up on her toes to try see what he was doing. She saw him bend down and take off his shoes and socks to reveal a pair of ginormous feet. Charles began to chuckle to himself as they all stared. "Splendid." Hank looked up at Raven and saw her smiling reassuringly at him. He smiled back and found a sense of courage in him. He excused himself and walked towards the centre of the small space they were in, as Charles moved away to make room for him, he only then noticed how Erik and Emilia were still standing together by the railing isolating themselves from the rest of the group. Hank stopped underneath the model plane, they all watched as he jumped into the air and flipped over. His huge feet grabbed onto the plane as he hung upside down off of it. Raven walked over to him after laughing at his antics.  
"You're amazing." He smiled back, only slightly believing it.  
"Really?" Raven just continued to smile. Emilia watched in surprise.  
"Well, that was-"  
"Different." She and Erik finished her sentence at the same time. She looked up at him as he looked down at her. He examined her face, searching for something. She turned away from him as she pushed herself off the railings and walked over to Charles where he welcomed her with an outstretched arm which brought her into him.  
She was oblivious to Erik's glare.

-o-

"These should be your size," Moira held out a pair of long red gloves out towards her. "I'm sorry that they're so long but they're the only ones we've got." Emilia begrudgingly slid the leather gloves up her small arms, frowning down at them as they finished at her elbow.

"You'll only have to wear them when you're around Hank." Charles promised, trying to make the situation lighter.

"And every other mutant I meet." Charles sighed as he put his hand on top of one of her gloved ones.  
"We can't take any risks and you know that Emilia," She stared down at the tiled floor, looking away from the three people around her. "This is to keep you safe." She took her hand away from his and began to walk away from the small group.  
"I think I'll go see Hank now." She turned away briskly, leaving the CIA workers and Charles in the small office room they had.

It started when Hank went to shake her hand after his little stunt. Charles had to explain why she couldn't touch him after she had to politely refuse his greeting, she had felt so guilty at the time, the look of disappointment on Hanks face and the scoff that came from Erik made it even worse. However, when he understood why, Hank shyly asked if she, and Raven, would mind coming to his lab so he could examine their blood.  
"It's amazing," Hank had gushed when they walked down the halls together. "Think of the amount of mutations you could hold and just change them at will." Moira and Charles had stopped them, the buzzkills.  
"What if you were to touch an employee and it turns out that they were also a mutant in hiding?" She had her jaw clenched and her hands on her hips.  
"I wouldn't hurt them, I never do!" Emilia had replied, however Charles joined in with a red face.  
"It's not them I'm worried about, it's you!" They came to an agreement that she would try to not come into physical contact with Hank or anyone they didn't know, another safety procedure of the agreement was to wear gloves, at all time. She hated them, she wanted to burn the fake leather which was on her skin. It was the most stupid idea she had ever known since the time when her brother had thought sliding down the stairs in a cardboard box was the answer to everything whenever someone was upset. Eventually, that had led to a broken arm and her mother banning her brother from being in the same room as an object he could use to slide down with.

When she eventually got to Hanks lab, Emilia knocked on the door before waiting for a call of confirmation.  
"Come in!" He called out. She opened the door and peeked inside before letting herself fully in. She noticed that Raven was still in the room with him, she sat opposite him on one of the tables and grinned at her in greeting as she entered.  
"Finally! We thought you weren't coming." Emilia took a seat next to Hank.  
"When have I ever let you down?" Raven eyed her gloves and the annoyed look on Emilia's face.  
"Nice gloves, they bring out your smile." Hank chuckled at Ravens comment before reaching across the table.  
"Funny, I thought blue did the same for you." Raven gave a short glare to her before becoming interested in Hank, Emilia twisted to her left and saw him holding a needle in a case.  
"You ready?" She took in a deep breath and nodded as she tried to ignore her sudden fear of needles. She rolled down her red glove on her left arm.  
"If we're going to do this, you're going to have to wear some gloves too." He put the case back down and pushed himself out of his seat.  
"I'll get some plastic ones now." He went to an opposite table as Raven leaned forward into Emilia.  
"Hank's been telling me about a serum he's making." Emilia raised an eyebrow at Raven.  
"Has he know?" Raven nodded in response, pleased with herself. "What does this serum do?" Hank returned with a pair of white disposable gloves.  
"It normalizes appearances." Emilia watched Hanks face as he took the needle out of its sterilizing case.  
"Really? That's… that's amazing." Both Raven and Hank smiled at her, she returned one of her own before it hit her. He was going to use it change his feet and Raven would use it make herself not blue. They'd use it to make themselves 'normal', she shouldn't be encouraging that. "But, you guys know that you don't need to change yourselves, right?"

There was silence in the room as neither of them replied. She pulled her beige dress down with her left hand, trying to distract herself. Hank pressed the needle into her skin and she hissed at the pain.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She shook her head at him.  
"It's okay, I'm fine." He gave her a very small smile and carried on. She looked around the room and at a table opposite covered with papers, she presumed they were all about the serum.  
"I'm guessing it was Charles who forced you into wearing the gloves?" Raven attempted to create conversation.  
"And Moira," She replied. Raven rolled her eyes in response, knowing how her brother could get. Emilia continued on. "They both think that one day I'll hurt myself… Charles thinks that I'll end up going insane." Hank furrowed his eyebrows together in deep thought.  
"It's a possibility, I mean, if you came across a mutant with an unstable mutation and they're unable to control it, it could be dangerous, and if you absorbed too much, you could have frequent outbursts and not even know. It might actually be that you end up harming someone." She stayed silent for a moment, thinking about what he had said.  
"What's wrong?" Raven asked, she looked up and saw that the blonde had swept her hair over to her right shoulder.  
"It's nothing, just forget about it, it was a selfish thought." Raven smiled at her supportively.  
"You can say, it's just us." She returned the smile and then looked up at Hank.  
"I was just wondering, if maybe you'd be able to make a serum for me?" Hank glanced to his papers on the other side of the room for a moment before answering.  
"To be able to touch people without absorbing their mutations?" She nodded before taking a quick glance at Raven.  
"If what you say will happen, then I want to prevent it all costs." Hank paused, thinking about what to do as Emilia and Raven watched him inspect the table. After a couple of moments he looked back up at her.  
"I'm not saying that it's possible but I can try." The sides of her mouth got bigger in glee.  
"Thank you." She couldn't hide the nagging feeling that what she had asked for was wrong.

-o-

Emilia walked alone back from Hanks lab an hour later, what Hank had said earlier kept swirling around in her head.

_'It might be that you end up harming someone'_

Could she? Could she really do that? She wasn't as powerful Charles was with his telepathic abilities, she couldn't concentrate on looking like someone else as long as Raven could and she wasn't as strong as Erik was with metal. She wasn't able to hurt somebody like they could. But, she did have the visions, her psychic ability. Could she harm someone with it? Maybe, if she tried. What if what he said was right, what if it was Charles or Raven that she hurt? What if it was even Hank? What about Erik? The fragile part of her spoke up._ 'What if you hurt him?'_ He doesn't need her sympathy, but, she'd feel guilty anyway.

She turned right to a door which resembled the one that she was given to stay in. Opening it, she found _him_ sitting there looking at some random files. _Speak of the devil and he shall appear. _  
"Oh," She spoke more to herself then him as she quickly stated the obvious. "I got the wrong door." Erik gave her a glance before turning back to his papers.  
"Seems like it." He began to put them away as she took a step in.  
"What papers are those?" He clicked his brown briefcase shut and didn't look back up at her.  
"I don't remember you being so nosy." She gave a small forced smile to him.  
"I'd say I don't remember you being so secretive, but, we both know how that turned out." He stared at his now closed briefcase for a few seconds before smirking and looking up at her.  
"Touché." He immediately looked her body up and down and raised an eyebrow. "Brown, really?" Erik asked. She rolled her eyes at his antics before answering.  
"It's more of beige actually, it's a neutral colour." The small girl remarked as she smoothed her dress out.  
"It's not your best colour." Emilia played with her feather necklace which had multiple charms hanging off and matched his arched eyebrow with one of her own.  
"Do you say that to all the girls?"  
"Only the ones that look best in purple."  
"Is this your attempt of a compliment? It's not very good." He readjusted his black turtle neck as he continued on.  
"Purple brings out your eyes." She rolled said eyes at him.  
"I'm flattered, honestly." She remembered the matter at hand. "Why have you got Sebastian Shaws files?" His smirk vanished with hers and his defensive mode came back.  
"Is your Charles sending you to check up on me?" He pushed himself out of his seat as he continued. "Have you become his little toy?" Emilia slowly leant against the door frame.  
"No, you're just very slow at putting things away." He turned away from her, hiding a small grin as he shrugged on his leather jacket.  
"Nice gloves by the way, who made you wear them? Charles?" She shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable with where he was taking the conversation. The tall man faced her again and noticed her movements and smiled to himself. "You shouldn't let them control you." She stood up straighter.  
"They're not controlling me." Erik gave half a nod before picking up his case.  
"You were made to absorb others mutations, why should they stop you?" He began walking towards her.  
"They care about me." The man she once knew stopped in front of her, staring her down.  
"Do they now?"  
"Yes," She folded her arms in front of her. "More than you ever did."

He paused, not knowing what to say. His eyes stayed on her face, drinking her in. Finally, with his blue eyes locked on hers, he spoke.  
"You really do know nothing." She lowered her eyes away, only just hurt by his tone.  
"So you did care?" She spoke above a whisper. "Or are you just insulting me?" He didn't reply, not until she met his gaze again.  
"I think you know the answer to that." He moved past her, leaving her by the door. She watched him walk down the hall, he didn't look back until he reached the very end. When he did, he stopped and turned his head a couple of inches to the side to indicate he was talking to her.  
"What would you say if I asked you to leave with me?" She took a breath, still resting against the door frame.  
"I'd say no," She fiddled with the white frame. She noticed his head move back away from her. _'You'd leave again'_ was what she wanted to say. _'You'd leave me and I'd be all alone in a random place with no way of coming back'._ "My place is here," She said instead. "With Charles and Raven. I'll be where they are. I'm happy with them." He gave a fleeting look and started to pick up the pace again. As she went to leave, she heard a voice call out.  
"If you're so happy then why are you hiding?"

Erik didn't get an answer.

-o-

She laid on her empty bed that night, empty of Charles. She knew where he was, he was waiting for Erik. She sighed as she turned over in the bed, the sheets were cold and scratchy. The four of them were each given separate rooms, they were bland and mostly blank and covered in white. The only colourful thing in her room that she didn't own, was the fake red tulip flowers on her bed side table. The plastic flowers reminded her of the tulips Erik had gotten her for her birthday years ago. Turning over again, she stretched herself out in a shape of a starfish to attempt to take up all the room in the bed. Also, to easily amuse herself. She searched for Charles to see if he was alright, and for Erik, to see if he had actually left. She heard both of their thoughts, they were outside the front of the base. Eavesdropping into their conversation, she heard bits and pieces of what was said.

_"From what I know about you, I'm surprised you've managed to stay this long."_ She heard Charles say. Emilia was surprised as well, from past experience of course. Do to her sleepy mind she missed parts of the conversation and didn't hear the rest until Erik spoke.  
_"I don't need your help."_  
_"Don't kid yourself_," Charles said, getting slightly annoyed at him. _"You needed my help last night. It's not just me you're walking away from."  
'It's Emmy as well'_ He thought. She felt a pang of guilt for Charles believing that. _"Here you have the chance to be part of something much bigger than yourself. I won't stop you leaving, I could, but I won't. Shaw has got friends, you could do with some."_

Emilia opened her eyes and turned onto her left side, abandoning the conversation. She fell asleep soon after, praying that Erik had left them once and for all.

* * *

_**Trailer - **** /SiK-Fd-zp3M**_

Most likely regret this chapter in the morning. Okay, so it's not that exciting and I feel like it needs more description in places but I'm not sure where. :3

**Special thanks to:** _Pngrum, cumbercuddles27, ScottishGeek26, huehnchen, Tessington, Ronnie.H, spiritofawatergoddess, ngome055 and Annika Sparks. **For favoriting and following.**_

**EXTRA MEGA THANKS TO:**

_**IKhandoZatman - **Thank you!  
__**LuckyAsLockhart** \- Haha thank you! Not much going on in this chapter but I hope you enjoy!  
_**_SilverWildRiver - _**_I will try  
_**_Tessington - _**_I'm glad you've enjoyed so far! Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
_**_Guest no. 1 - _**_Haha thank you! I'd like to think it's unique too, mostly because Emilia's mutation is completely different to other X men. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did with the last!  
_**_Guest no. 2 - _**_Aha here you go, haha sorry it's not that__ exciting. :)  
_**_Guest no. 3 - _**_Well here's 4,000 and something words for you! :)  
_**_pngrum - _**_Thank you! It is hard, half the time I'm so confused on who she should be with, I consider changing the entire plot just to satisfy my needs. So, I do feel your pain. :) Awh thank you, I'm proud to have as a fan!  
_

_POLYVORE OUTFIT: emilias_outfit_for_chapter/set?id=130694153 **(Clicky link is also on profile!)**_

_**Any idea what Emilia's nickname could be?**_ I'm still stuck.

I'll update when there's 25/26 reviews.

_PREVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER:_** _Bonnie remembers her sister - Cerebro is used - Emilia visits someone who predicts her death._**


	7. The Metal Man & The Dreamer

**"Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing." **  
**―**

** Rick Riordan, _The Lightning Thief_**

* * *

Bonnie remembered a time when she had a sister. How it felt to know that she always had someone with her. They were both alike in so many ways, both had long thick hair, big clear shaped eyes, the same noses and smiles that had melted hearts. They could have been twins if it weren't for their hair and eye colour. Emilia's eyes were a blue that transformed into a green around the pupil, the same as her father and her brothers. Bonnie's were a dark blue with a grey ring surrounding it, like her mothers. While neither child had been blessed with their mothers golden locks, they both had a touch of history to their manes. Emilia was born with straight dark brown hair that came from her fathers side of the family, Bonnie had naturally red hair whose frizzyness was the blame of her grandmother (apparently).

She recalls her parents telling her about a time when she was young that she wasn't able to pronounce Emilia's name properly. So she called her Emmy instead, that's how the nickname stuck. When she was four and Emilia was six, they had climbed up the local parks climbing frame together hand in hand and never let go of each other once. The day after her seventh birthday, they had rode their bikes up a local hill. _"Wait for me!"_ She had squealed as she tried to keep up with the elder. When Emilia eventually started to grow out of the things that were given to her, they were given to Bonnie. Clothes that no longer fit were passed down to the red head, so were small shoes, picture books, childish toys and everything else a teenager didn't need. They had shared a room together for thirteen years and when Emilia was announced to be too old to share a room anymore, Bonnie kept their room while Emilia got new.

The look with the raised eyebrow that Emilia had always done was forever written into her mind. She'd always turn to Bonnie whenever their parents were bickering and give her the look with the raised eyebrow and the rolled eyes. Bonnie would always giggle back. Once, when she had woken up in the middle of the night and went to get a drink, she saw their father sleeping downstairs on the couch. "It's because he snores," Her sister had told her. "It wakes mum up." The younger wasn't sure, it had been awfully quiet that night.

She remembers when people had called her _"cute"_ and _"adorable"_, how they gave her all the attention instead of Emilia. The compliments stopped when Emilia turned fifteen, the attention was on her and Bonnie stood in her sister's shadow.  
_"Look how gorgeous her hair is, and oh look at that smile."_  
_"Oh Gwyneth, You must be so proud to have a daughter like Emilia."_  
_"Why can't you be more like your sister?"_

She still wonders how people never expected her to actually act like her sister. It had started at the age of thirteen, she begun to style her hair the exact way her sister did, she wore similar dresses to her and she put make-up on just like her. She wore more of Emilia's old clothes that she had grown out of and soon started acting like her as well. She copied the way Emilia would raise her eyebrow, the way she walked and even the things she'd say.  
"I'm looking for an Emilia Jones?" A delivery man had come to the door one day. Bonnie lifted her hand out sign for the parcel and put on Emilia's smile.  
"That's me." She realised what she had done was wrong later on that day, she had stared at her mirror for an hour just thinking about how stupid she had been.

Maybe, by pretending to be her sister she thought she'd get more attention. It was true about how much she wanted the little sparkle that Emilia had seemed to always carry around. She was jealous, jealous of her own sister. She officially stopped when she was fifteen. She had her hair cut so she no longer looked her sister, a full fringe was formed across her forehead and her red hair stopped at her shoulders. She found that unlike Emilia, she felt comfortable in her own skin and didn't feel the need to wear make-up all of the time. She went around bare faced and proud and got the attention that she so desired.

On a summer's morning, she had sat downstairs in the living room with her sister watching the neighbour's daughter leave her parents' house in a white gown.  
"Do you think I'll get married when we're older?" Bonnie had asked dreamily as she watched the bridesmaids follow the blonde bride, lifting the white lace veil.  
"Maybe," Her sister had replied with her head in a book. Bonnie had rolled her eyes at her lack of attention to the bride outside. "He'll have to ask Dad first." Her entire family, including her, had thought that Emilia would marry James, a boy who lived across the road. Two years they had been together and her mother was convinced it would happen. Her sister had turned twenty when their mother came down from the attic one day, bringing down a box which hadn't been opened in roughly twenty-one years.  
"I just want you to try it on for size." Her mother had pushed the old wedding gown towards her eldest.  
"I'm not getting married!" Her sister protested, pushing the dress away from her as if it was something foul.  
"I'll try it on!" Bonnie had offered when her mother had a disappointed look her face. "If Emmy doesn't want to I will!" Her mother had eventually forced her old gown onto the brunette. The dress went below Emilia's feet and even further, to prove the point she had to scoop it up to walk down the stairs without falling. Unfortunately, Emilia's 5ft 3 frame did not go well with her mother's 5ft 9 height. Bonnie had spun around in one of the old bridesmaid's dresses, first pretending to hold the veil and then mockingly catching some carnation flowers that Emilia threw for Bonnie's enjoyment.  
"When you marry James," Their mother had spoken, to Emilia's dismay, with tears in her eyes. "You'll look beautiful," She looked at Bonnie in the cream knee length dress and added. "Both of you."

Emilia had come to her that night. Although they had separate beds in different rooms, the sisters would always end up underneath the others covers when something was wrong.  
"I don't want to marry James." The elder had spoken in a whisper. Bonnie had just blinked at her before asking back in a whisper.  
"Then what do you want?"  
She remembered James coming to the house a couple of days later when their father wasn't in. He had knocked repeatedly on the door in a heavy manner before giving up and shouting. It was only them two in the house. Bonnie had sat with her blanket up to her chin leaning against the window in her bedroom, scared to even look out. It had been funny at first, Emilia had joined Bonnie mocking James' antics and animalistic ways.  
"He looks like a gorilla." Her sister had commented as James' face got redder by the minute and his nostrils had started to flare.  
"Don't be mean." Bonnie had tried to tell her off but couldn't stop hysterically giggling when Emilia put on a deep voice and copied everything stupid he had once said. But when he started threatening to break the door down the laughter had died down. Eventually, Emilia had gone back to her own room, opened her window and began to shout back. They were still there when their mother came back from shopping. At first she had smiled warmly and remarked that it was like a scene from Romeo and Juliet, which was until Emilia had tipped a vase of water over his head and he began to roar louder. Bonnie didn't remember _that_ happening in Shakespeares play. Her mother's face had paled and had quickly sent James away with help from the neighbours.

"A vase Emilia? Could you be any more immature?" Their mother seethed as she packed the shopping away, slamming tins onto the counter in frustration.  
"You didn't hear what he was saying." Her sister had mumbled looking down at her feet.  
"Oh trust me," She said as she took the last item from the bag with a bang. "I think the whole street heard what was said."

Her mother hadn't stopped giving Emilia dirty looks throughout the entire week. "I hope you're happy." She had said in spite. The wedding dress, along with the bridesmaid dress, was packed away and left to collect dust back in the attic.

When Emilia come back from that week away, she was different. There was little things she noticed, her fidgeting nervously whenever someone held something metal close to her, the way her eyes would flash if someone mentioned the name _'Erik'_ and whenever someone asked her what it was like up in England she'd always have to hide a suspicious look and lie. Bonnie knew there was something wrong, her mother had also mentioned it one day as they had cleaned the kitchens.  
"Your sister's been acting awful strange lately," She spoke in hushed whispers as Emilia walked up the stairs. "Skipping meals, always talking on that phone and never touching the cutlery longer than she has to." She dried the wet plate that her mother had just cleaned off with a small smile on her face.  
"Maybe it's a boy." Her mother had stopped, just for a second, the next plate in her hands froze. She stared out of the window, looking as if she'd seen a ghost.  
"Maybe." She had uttered after a while. Her hands began to wash again but her eyes were barely concentrated.

Her mother had thought Emilia to be pregnant, but from the scars left on Bonnies arm they now wished that it was true. She remembered the way the knives had lifted into the air, how they had glistened and the pain that had come with them as they cut into her skin. She could see Emilia's face now.  
_"I'm sorry,"_ Her sister had cried with tears unsung tears in her eyes. _"I didn't mean it, Bonnie please!"_

How come she could remember every single detail of not only that night but the days and weeks that lead up to it, while her family acted as if Emilia was never there? The picture of the five of them no longer hung on the wall, every picture they had of her was put away in the attic, next to the wedding dress. Her parents weren't cold hearted enough to burn any of her photographs, they had loved Emilia there was no doubt about that. It was because she was different, different from them. No one spoke of her, it was as if her name was a taboo but sometimes they'd forget that. They'd all be sitting together and someone would mention that time when they had gone to a family friend's wedding and how the food there was exquisite. They'd then talk about the bride and how lovely she had looked, her mother would go on to say about how the bridesmaid's flowers were lovely and then they'd all stop. Because Emilia was a bridesmaid in that wedding, and that was probably the last and only time they'd see her walk down an aisle. The silence would then fill the room. Her dad would excuse himself to pour him, and only him, a drink, their mum would freeze up, her brother would shift uncomfortably and she would stroke her left arm where her new scars took up most of the room.

Her parents had promised her that Emilia would come home.  
"Give it a couple of days and she'll be crawling back." Her mother had said as she wrapped her arm in a bandage that night. But days turned into weeks and weeks soon went to months. Before she knew it, her sister had been gone for over a year.  
Emilia had become forgotten, or, in Bonnie's view, ignored.

-o-

Erik did not leave. She didn't even need to get out of bed to see him, Emilia just knew.  
You know that feeling you get? When something's supposed to happen but you get that certain feeling that you just know that it won't? Like that time when you were supposed to meet a friend and you've planned it for days, but you have that familiar sinking feeling about it. So when you're dressed and ready to go out the door, they ring and apologise about their parents not letting them out or that a family member has suddenly become ill. She had that feeling.  
Of course, she had also seen it in a vision. Erik walking back into the building, going back to his room, pretending that it wasn't a big deal and then telling himself that he would just leave another time. She hated him a little bit more for getting her hopes up.

-o-

Emilia made the red pen in front of her bob up and down to her own amusement, after a couple more times of letting it swirl around in the air, she let it fall down on to her gloveless hand. Thankfully, they were all assured that no one at the research base had a mutation and that Emilia wouldn't harm anyone. Not that she had before, but not everyone there was keen on taking chances._ 'Black Suit'_ sat opposite her and Charles, staring out of the window. Charles wore a light blue shirt with a grey waistcoat and grey suit trousers, it brought out his eyes. _'Black Suit'_ was wearing, like always, a black suit. Both of them were looking at the round facility in the distance that resembled a golf ball. She leaned her chin in her hand and listened into what the CIA officer was saying to Charles.  
"Hank turned that radar installation into a transmitter. It's designed to amplify brainwaves so it could enhance your telepathic powers, help us find other mutants for our division."  
"What if they don't want to be found by you?" They all turned to Erik who had just walked into the room.  
"Erik," Charles said in surprise. "You decided to stay." Erik paused before answering, his eyes regarded the two men and then they found her. She noticed that his eyes somehow stood out against his black turtle neck, making her shiver as she looked up at him. He stared her down before slowly looking away and continuing.  
"If a new species is being discovered, it should be by its own kind," He glanced away from the man in black to Charles and then her again. "Charles, Emilia and I find the mutants. No suits." She looked closely at him, wondering if he regretted saying her name the minute it came out of his mouth.  
"First of all, that's my machine out there." The middle aged man reprimanded him. "Second of all, and much more importantly, this is Charles' decision." That was when Emilia decided to interrupt.  
"How come it's all Charles' decision?" She narrowed her eyes down at the man. "What about me and Raven?" He shifted uncomfortably underneath her glare.  
"It's a little bit more complicated than that," He sighed and run a hand through his hair in frustration. "It's just that Charles is a little bit higher up on our priority list at the moment," Her eyebrows raised into a curve and her make up covered eyelids went wider. "I mean, don't take it the wrong way, when we found out about what you could do it was like digging money out of our pockets and finding an extra dollar that we forgot about before," Little beads of sweat appeared on his head as he addressed Erik. "But I do honestly think that it's not a good idea to bring her along with you. She's a distraction." Erik tensed up slightly at his words.  
"That's a shame because I don't recall asking for your opinion." As the man in black was about to speak, Emilia quickly sat up straighter and her voice rang out.  
"I'm with Erik," she sat back in her seat and flung her leg over her left one. "No suits." He tossed her an annoyed look before turning to back to the tall man in the doorway.  
"Charles is fine with the CIA being involved. Isn't that right?" Charles looked at both of them, knowing what they were right.  
"No. I'm sorry, but I'm also with Erik. We'll find them alone." The black haired man's mouth hung wide open for a couple of seconds. He quickly regained himself and turned to challenge Charles.  
"What if I say no?" Charles put his left hand in Emilia's.  
"Then good luck using your installation without us."

-o-

The metal floor was lifted up above them automatically as they were lead up by Charles. They were all in the golf ball shaped building where Hank kept his creation, a small podium was in the centre of the room, above it hung a helmet covered with hundreds of wires.  
"I call it Cerebro, as in the Spanish for brain." Hank came forward and began pointing out all they needed to know. "Okay, so, the electrodes connect Charles to the transmitter on the roof. When he picks up a mutant, his brain sends a signal through a relay and then the coordinates of their location are printed out here." He pointed to the machine behind him. Charles stepped forward and began examining the helmet as Raven came next to Hank, her blonde hair hung past her shoulders.  
"You designed this?" He put his hands at his sides and nodded shyly.  
"Yeah." Emilia watched as Charles stepped onto the podium and placed the helmet onto his head, fear began to creep into her.  
"You're sure that this is safe?" She asked Hank. He glanced away from Raven to her.  
"It should be." She held onto the bars surrounding the podium tighter.  
"Should be?" Her voice went a pitch higher then felt a hand rest gently on top of hers, her eyes shot up and saw Charles smiling down at her.  
_'I'll be fine.' _He spoke telepathically to her.  
_'You look like an absolute idiot.'  
__'Oh my sweet Emilia,' _He spoke sarcastically._ 'Ever loving as always.'  
_She grinned up at him, trying to hold back a laugh, a group of butterflies began to flutter in her stomach as he returned it with one of his own. She felt someone brush past her and broke the moment by turning around to find Erik.  
"What an adorable lab rat you make, Charles." Charles tore his hands away from hers and held them behind his back to prepare himself.  
"Don't spoil this for me, Erik." Hank came next to Charles and fiddled with the helmet.  
"I've been a lab rat," Erik continued, his gunmetal blue eyes looking quite sombre. "I know one when I see one." Raven came next to her, both she and Erik were clad in black while Emilia and Charles had opted for a lighter look.

"Okay, great." Hank quickly stopped the conversation. "Are you sure we can't shave your head?" Replies flew out from Emilia and Charles' mouths immediately.  
_"Don't touch my hair."_  
_"Don't shave his hair."_  
Emilia felt a blush soar onto her cheeks as Raven and Erik both stared at her because of the comment. Hank left Charles' side as he returned to the machine behind them and Erik put his hands on the bar then leaned into Charles with curiosity. Charles slowly closed his eyes, bracing himself for what was to come. The flicking of switches could be heard from Hank's fast moving hands, a bundle of nerves began to swallow her completely. The lights dimmed around them, causing them to be in complete darkness. The only light in the room came from the helmet which shone blue down on Charles and small scarlet and sapphire lights gleamed from Hanks machines. The 'lab rat' in front of them began to fidget uncomfortably under the machine and then all at once he reached out for the bars around him as the Cerebro came to life.

The helmet shone brighter than ever before and a white light came radiated the room. He gasped out in surprise and held on tighter, Raven quickly reached out in fear and seized Emilia's right hand for support. The smaller ones left hand automatically reached out for Charles' and gave it a light squeeze to show that she was still there. His eyes opened and searched around the room while thousands of adult and children mutants rushed through this mind. She watched him in amazement as Hanks voice rang out.  
"It's working!" A nervous laugh came from Charles as more and more people came to him, the machine at the back began scratching out coordinates of the mutants.

She doesn't know how long it had been since then but only when Raven called out did she realise.  
"Maybe it's time to stop?" The paper recording all the places of the mutants had nearly reached the floor.  
"It's alright, I can find more." Charles tried to brush them off. Hank eyed Emilia, wanting her say before he did anything.  
"Stop it." She urged him, not needing him to ask. Charles looked down at her and began to argue back. "Don't." She threatened to him as Hank finished shutting down the machine. She came up the podium beside him and helped him take the contraption off. He stumbled slightly, she and Hank held onto him as they helped him down.  
"You should have seen it Emmy," Charles put his arm over her shoulders as she kept her grip on him, she beamed at the use of her nickname. "It's unbelievable." Charles stopped them in their tracks as they stepped away from Cerebro, he turned to Hank. "Maybe Emilia could try it as well?" She wanted to, she really did, but the look on Hanks face was enough to tell her no.  
"Charles, Cerebro was designed for someone with your range of telepathic skill. I don't know if Emilia would be able to handle it." She gave a fake smile and a wink to Charles.  
"It looks stupid anyway, wouldn't want to look as much of an idiot like you did." He gave a smile chuckle at her joke and let Hank lead him over to the machine with the coordinates of the mutants. Her gaze fell on Cerebro, wondering what it was like seeing all of those lives flash before him. She felt the sound of shoes fall to a stop next to her and peered up to find Erik.  
"You know, maybe Hanks right," He crossed his arms in front of his chest with a smirk on his lips. "Maybe it's best if you don't try Cerebro, we wouldn't want you to get a headache." As he went to walk away, leaving her with the insult fresh in her mind, she held a hand out to stop him.  
"You know what Erik? I agree with you, maybe it is best for Charles to use Cerebro. That way it'll be easier to find you when you next go walkies again." She soon realised that putting her hand on his chest to stop him wasn't the best idea, especially with everyone around them. Hank and Charles had both turned around to watch them, the young genius had a confused look spread across his face and Charles had an eyebrow raised with a disappointed stare. Raven glared at her as she turned away. She didn't know whose look hurt the most, Ravens or Charles.  
_"All I did was touch him," _She argued telepathically with him as she left the building. _"I mean, he started it, it's hardly my fault." _She ambled alone down the concrete steps as she stepped outside, a light gust of wind blew up her skirt in less of a 'Marilyn' way more of 'I may die of embarrassment' way.  
_"It never is your fault is it Emilia?" _The telepath hit a sore spot as she picked up the pace.  
_"Leave me alone Charles." _And that's what he did.

-o-

It was only when she finished packing her suitcase did she next see Charles.  
"Do enlighten me on why you've decided to pack your only case." She quickly swapped a piece of clothing for something else as she replied.  
"You heard Erik, we're going to find the other mutants." He sighed and leaned against the wall of her room.  
"You don't have to come with us if you don't want to." She pushed a strand of hair out of her face as she bent down to get a pair of shoes.  
"I know, that's why I'm going on my own." Charles immediately stood straighter.  
"What?" She pushed the top of the suitcase down as she finished.  
"I need to go back to Oxford, I need to speak to Ms Adela." He gave a nod, understanding her. When she finished zipping the heavy case up, he came behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. She smiled and fell back against him, her hands on top of his arms, his chin resting on her head.  
"I'm sorry about what was said earlier." He gave a quick kiss down to the side of her cheek.  
"It's my fault, I'm sorry." She turned away from his body to face him. "I'll only be a couple of days." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead this time.  
"You better be." She wrapped her arms around him as his automatically found their way around her waist, she sunk into his embrace. He was warm against her cold body, a tingle went down her spine as her chest brushed against his.  
"I have to go," She grudgingly pulled away after a few moments. "The cab should be waiting outside." Charles gave a sad smile and twirled a piece of her hair around his finger.  
"You've got enough money, yes?"  
"Yes, plenty."  
"And you've got everything you need?"  
"Yes Charles."  
"You know what to do at the airport don't you?"  
"Charles," She said softly, stopping him from going on. "I'll be fine." He looked down at her and smiled.  
"I know."

After saying her goodbyes to Hank and Raven, Charles helped take her suitcase outside to the cab. She refused his offer to pay for the ride and his offer to go with her to make sure she got there alright. She sat in the right passenger seat at the back of the car, her bag containing her passport and money on her lap and her suitcase in the boot. Charles stood outside the research base, hand shoved for warmth in his trouser pockets as he waited for her to leave. As she was about to wave goodbye, she saw a figure step out from the building in front of her. Erik's pale skin stood out against his dark outfit, he raised his hand and gave one single wave before slipping his hand back into his pocket. She gave a small nod in reply to show that she got it and realised that she might never understand Erik Lehnsherr.

-o-

Emilia stood inside apartment room no.18. Her apartment. Everything was the same, apart from the small amount of dust clinging to items. She hurried around the small apartment she had once shared with another, picking up things she decided to bring back with her. Clothes, brushes, photographs. In fact, one photograph along with a necklace with a small purple bead which she had hid at the back of a small drawer wouldn't let her leave.  
Eventually, after much debating, she put the once cherished photograph of her and Erik at the very bottom of the case. No one needed to know she had them, not even Erik. As she stared around the apartment she couldn't help but think of him. Their relationship had been naive, he was her first_ 'love'_ and she was so blinded by her attraction for him that she fell in love with the idea of him instead of what he actually was, a murderer.  
No excuse could justify Erik's actions, she knew that, he had destroyed lives, families. But, hadn't they all those soldiers ruined other people's lives? They had killed innocent people, maybe Erik was justified. She wondered if that was what Erik told himself before he took a father or a husband's life, that he was right in doing so?

-o-

You could smell the scented candles from Ms. Adela's room from outside her own door. She knocked three times, on the third she was greeted with the old woman before she could lower her hand. Ms. Adela's wild curls was wrapped tightly around with a purple scarf, streaks of grey hair were an occurrence throughout the black and her bronze skin was wrinkled from old age with laugh lines easily found from behind her black rimmed glasses. For once, with her loose fitting dress, Ms. Adela seemed slightly normal.  
"Emilia?" The old woman croaked out. She took off her glasses, wiped at the lenses and looked back up at her in disbelief. "You've been gone for weeks!" The brunette smiled at her, she noticed a dream catcher in her hand.  
"And now I'm back, Ms. Adela may I come in for a moment?" Her russet coloured eyes confusedly gazed over Emilia's face, hesitantly, she slowly opened the door for her.  
She didn't really know what to expect when she came into the room, maybe for tarot cards with voodoo dolls to be covering the room . It wasn't like that, the room had a pink flowery wallpaper with china plates hung on the wall decorated with pictures of cats and photographs of her grandchildren. The carpet was a cream with a peach rug on top. The closest thing to what she had expected to find was in the corner of the room, a table covered with a sequinned blanket was hidden next to a portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, on top sat a glass ball and surrounding it was a single pile of tarot cards, a small group of candles along with other things. Only when she heard the door click shut behind her did she turn back around. Ms. Adela stood by the door, holding the door handle shut.  
"I know why you're here," She slowly peered up and met her eyes. "I've seen it." The old fortune teller ambled past her to the small table.  
"There are others out there that are like us." Emilia spoke to her. She nodded in reply and she began putting the tarot cards away, Emilia wondered if she ever needed to actually use them or the crystal ball.  
"I know," She said. The old crone had now begun to light the candles around the table. "I've seen them." She flinched away from one of the candles as the heat seared into her skin. She called Emilia over with a wave of her hand, she sat in one of the chair each side of the small table.  
"Ms. Adela, what are you doing?" Emilia noticed that her hands were very frail, the big bulky rings she always wore made them look even smaller than they actually were.  
"I have clients coming in thirty minutes, I need to set the mood." She pushed the newly ablaze candles in between her and her fellow mutant. She then preceded to turn off the lights, leaving them in darkness if it weren't for the miniature candles.  
"Really you don't need to do all of this." She began to slide on more bangles, uninterested with Emilia.  
"You want answers, yes? I'll give them to you, I'll teach you. Let's say, I ask five questions and you predict, you give me five questions and I tell, agreed?" She nodded in response. She held her wrinkled hands out across the table and grabbed Emilia's hands. "You know how to do it yes? Tell me what the next customers are like. Just close your eyes and search." That's what she did. She furrowed her eyebrows together as she closed her eyes and searched. The ticking of the clock made her even more nervous than she already was. It took a while, to her embarrassment, but she found them. Two women in their late twenties, one with a baby bump and another with a big engagement ring.  
"One blonde, short and bloated, the other tall, brunette and slim." She opened one eye to see if she was right. Ms. Adela smiled at her.  
"Yes, now tell me what the blonde's baby will be like." She did the same thing over again. She saw a maternity ward at a local hospital, the woman lying in a bed with the baby next to her.  
"It's a boy, it looks like its mother." The woman opposite her began to fiddle with her rings.  
"Yes, yes, now tell me about the father." Emilia paused before answering.  
"He's not there." Adela rolled her eyes.  
"I know that, tell me what he looks like." When she closed her eyes an image hit her instantly.  
"He has black hair, dark eyes and a receding hair line." She kept her eyes closed, hearing but not seeing the other woman's growing annoyance. "  
Does he look anything like the child?" She opened her sea green eyes to Adela's wide dark ones.  
"No."  
"Why do you think that is?"  
"Genetics?"  
"No, the child isn't his." A silence quickly filled the room. She didn't break eye contact with the fortune teller. The flame coming off the candles filled the room with shadows. The wisp of the burning smoke flew around them.  
"Oh."  
"Oh indeed, now tell me about the brunette." She found that the brunette was married to a wealthy business owner who travelled constantly, often leaving her on her own in their luxury house. Her father, also a wealthy business man, was paying for most of the wedding.  
"He's cheating on her with other women." The burning smell of candle wax filled her nose.  
"That's right, now predict something to do with me." Emilia's hand quickly reached up and twirled her necklace for comfort.  
"You lie to the both of them."  
"That's right."  
"Why? Don't they deserve the truth?"  
"Some people can't handle the pain that comes along with it," Adela stopped fussing with her bangles and put her full attention on Emilia. "Now it's your five questions." Emilia leaned forward over the table towards her.  
"Ms. Adela, I appreciate you spending your time on me, I really do, but I don't understand how this is helping me in any way." She picked up a pair of hoop earrings from behind her and began to put them in.  
"I've learnt everything about you since the moment you came into this room, I learnt that you refuse to see what lies in your future." Emilia spoke in her own defence.  
"I've never tried." Adela's hand turned into a death point right at her.  
"Whose fault is that? Yours. You're frightened of the unknown." Her bangles on both hands slid down as she raised her hands to hold her chin. "Go ahead, we've got fifteen minutes." The necklace was cold against her fingertips, it was a sweet feeling compared to the flames between them.

"Will you come back with me?" She just stared at her.  
"No, I'm too old." She thought for a moment before bursting out.  
"Do we find Shaw?" The elder sighed to herself before answering.  
"No, he finds you." Before Emilia could ask what she meant she continued on. "Why don't you ask some questions that are about yourself? Be a little more selfless Emilia." She used her index finger and her thumb to roll the purple bead attached to the necklace around. That's when he came to mind.  
"Do I marry?" Adela answered her immediately.  
"You marry a leader with eyes as blue as the sky." She squeezed tighter onto the necklace from Erik.  
"I know two men who fit that description." She gave a slight shrug in return.  
"Then you best make up your mind."  
The image of her sisters red hair filled her head.  
"My family, do I ever see them again?" Ms. Adela gave a sorrowful look.  
"Yes, only to bury a loved one." Her sister's screams filled the room and the warm blood dripping from her arm was all she could see. _'Don't let it be Bonnie,'_ she begged to herself. _'Don't let it be Steffon, don't let them die before they can even live.' _Emilia's hand gripped onto the table in fear.  
"Tell me," She managed to choke out. "Tell me, please." Adela looked at her up and down, studying her.  
"It's your father." She fell back into her seat. It felt as if someone had just taken the air out of her lungs. She felt more ill than ever. She wanted to cry. "I won't answer any more questions about your family, your last question will only be about you." She looked away and stared off into the corner of the room. Fixing her gaze on a Persian cat painted onto a lilac plate. She remembered one of her aunts having a plate like that. Aunt Judith, who only visited at Christmas and birthdays, had given an exact copy to her mother. It was chucked straight in the bin, it was the thought that had counted anyway.  
"Both of my mother's older sisters were unable to have children," She glanced at the woman from the corner of her eye. "Can I?" Adela reached out for both of her hands again and held them close in comfort. Her thumbs moved rhythmically against her dainty hands, she was trying to comfort her. She snapped out of the glazed expression she had been wearing for a couple of seconds before meeting Emilia's eyes.  
"You'll be a mother, four times in fact, but only three live." Her face was expressionless. She wanted to rejoice and cry at the same time. She didn't know what to feel. Should she grieve for the father who had not yet died? Or for the child she never had?  
"It doesn't have to happen that way," She shook her head, not wanting to accept what she had just said. "It doesn't have to happen that way, it can change."  
"Emilia, our visions don't change. The day I married my husband I saw his own funeral." Adela kept her eyes down at her hands, trying to fight the stinging sensation behind her eyes. "Out of the seven children I've had, only two lived," She looked up at Emilia with eyes threatening to spill tears. "So I know how it feels to watch the people you love die and not be able to do anything about it." Emilia got up slowly away from the table and looked down regrettably at fortune teller.  
"I am so sorry for your losses and I believe you when you say you know how it feels. But I refuse to watch the ones I love die and not be able to stop it."  
"Emilia my sweet child I have tried with all my might to do that. It never ends well." Emilia walked away from her towards the door. "I can't afford to think like that."  
"Wait! Please you need to know something!" She stopped in her path from walking out the door. Emilia turned her head slightly over her right shoulder.  
"Tell me how my father and child die first." It was quiet just for a heartbeat.  
"Cancer causes your father to die and your son never lives." Her heart wells up a little and her throat tightens, she was supposed to have a boy. She heard Adela's shaky breath loud and clear. "You're a good girl Emilia, you deserve so much better then what I've seen, so I beg you when I say to not go back to that research base." Her hands shake so hard from the fear of the unknown. Her shaky nervous breaths soon match Adelas.  
"How?" Was all she needed to ask. She felt something being shoved in to her hand behind her, she looked down and saw the dream catcher from earlier.  
"There are traitors in your new group Emilia, they'll hurt the ones you love most. In some years, when you've foreseen your own children's death and cried until you can no longer shed a tear, the only comfort you'll receive is the metal man impaling his sweet blade into your pale stomach."

She flung the door open, leaving the old croon inside, and ran all the way up stairs into the safety of her own apartment. Her heart boomed against her chest as she ran into the toilet. She began to heave up the lunch that had turned now turned sour.  
_"The only comfort you'll receive is the metal man impaling his sweet blade into your pale stomach."  
_She only knew one man who could control metal. Erik would never hurt her, at least, that's what she prayed for.

* * *

I hope this chapter wasn't disappointing, I know it's really Erik orientated but I had a lot of feels recently. I'm sorry for the lack of updates, I've started school again and have had rehearsals to go to. Next chapter won't be up for a while… I think.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me what you think of me using Bonnie at the beginning! I'd really appreciate it!

**PREVIEW: **_Raven hints to Charles about 'the question', Emilia babysits and Shaw visits._

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** Annika Sparks, Kumori no Carlie, With Wings of Shadows, tibreezy, I-am-the-Peel, xXallegedangelXx, digital hellcat, lem00066, JazzyPoole, catlover2015, Kuragari Sensei, Sivilla, petit squirrel.

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Thank you all so much for your time!x

I'LL UPDATE WHEN THERE ARE 30 REVIEWS.


	8. Bruising Her Soul

_"Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.  
__'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.  
__'I don't know,' Alice answered.  
__'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter."  
**\- **_

**Lewis Carroll, _Alice in Wonderland  
_**

* * *

**_The Jones household._**

The remnants of last night's dinner still hung in the air. The scent of potatoes, carrots and herbs drifted towards the top of the stairs. That's where he stood now. Leaning on the wooden bannister, waiting. On the walls which descended down with the stairs hung ghost like photographs in frames. There were a total of four on the beige wallpaper.  
On the wall next to him hung a picture of the red head. She wore a bright rose dress in the picture, the colour almost matching her scarlet lips. Her fringe was cut high above her eyebrows, the rest of her hair went to her shoulders before being snipped. She was outside wearing a happy expression with someone, a friend, a family member, he didn't know.  
The next one down the line was the youngest, a tall boy at the age of fourteen. The photo was taken in a field and he wore a fresh cleaned football kit. He knelt on his knees with his other team mates at the front whilst the rest of the team either stood up or sat on chairs. His natural dark hair was cut short, muscles that would develop in years to come had already began to stand out.  
Half way down the stairs was a picture of an old couple, presumably one set of their grandparents. Nothing of importance to him.  
However, above the bottom step sat a family photo. The mother and father were there, as were the two children whose pictures were already hung up.  
But where was the eldest?

"It's clear," The man who he had been waiting for murmured. "They're out."  
His electric blue eyes questioned the tall man opposite. "Where's the red head?" The scarlet skinned warrior pointed his rough and scarred hand to the room opposite. The leader followed the faded peach carpet to the ancient wooden door, leaving the photos behind him, wondering what the woman inside offered him.  
He didn't make one sound.

Sebastian Shaw walked into the room with such elegance and refinement that it almost threw her off. Emma Frost sat next to the sleeping girl on her bed, comfortably hacking into her mind.  
"You sure that she won't wake?" He walked around the room with curiosity, not really paying attention to the blonde.  
"Not if I have anything to do with it." Emma stilled for a moment, letting her pale hand waver over the girl beneath before letting them drop with a quiet sigh.  
"Something the matter?" Shaw did not turn around, although the concern dripping from his voice seemed real to her.  
"It's nothing." The telepaths platinum blonde hair fell from behind her eyes, guarding her from him as the elder turned around.  
"Emma," He dragged out her name like he always did whenever he reprimanded her. "We don't keep secrets from each other, we're a team." The diamond girl didn't take her eyes off the girl's ginger freckles scattering across her nose.  
"I don't understand," Her white ensemble stood out intensively in the poor light, almost making her resemble an angel. "We've got Russia in the palm our hands, apart from the telepath, we've got everything under control." She fired her eyes accusingly at him. "Why the girl? She's nothing of importance to us."

He paused by the window for a moment, looking out at the night sky. No one should be awake at this time apart from them. There was a full moon above him, looking down at him, no, praising him. No stars were in sight, the sky was a dark blank canvas apart from the god that hung above every single one of them.  
Shaw turned to her and gave a peculiar smile. The considerably younger woman now standing before him had a lot to learn.  
"If what you found out from the telepath is true, then she's a greater threat then we previously thought." Her crystal blue clashed against his in confusion. "If we had her on our side, we'd win this war tomorrow."  
"She's weak," Emma cut him off annoyed.  
"She needs training," He corrected her, as he began to pace around the room gently. "Emilia is too much of a great opportunity to pass up, we wouldn't want such an asset go to waste." Shaw stopped in front of her, his piercing blue eyes showed the doubt he held for her. "You do understand, don't you Emma?"  
It wasn't a question to be answered with no.  
"Yes," She uttered, no longer meeting his eyes.  
"Emilia is the perfect pawn for us."  
"She won't join willingly," Emma stated in a hushed tone, not forgetting about the sleeping child next to her.  
"Oh she will," Shaw bent down to the younger sister. He leered down at her, making Emma's skin crawl, before reaching out and softly curling a strand of the gingers hair around his finger. "Persuasion always makes them join."

Smoothly in a blink of an eye he produced a small blade. It shined against the faint glow of the moon peeking through the window, wondering why he was doing his own dirty work.

Shaw held the sharp metal against the young beauty's porcelain cheek.  
"Emilia Jones can live as a god in our new world," He pressed the knife down harder, slowly producing a single bead of blood. "Or she can die in her old one."

Wildly, he began to hack and crimson soon began to drop tragically to the floor.

_**Research Base**_

It was a rainy day for September in Washington. The rain drizzled down from the murky grey skies and dropped down onto the hood of Ravens coat. She shovelled her hands deep into her black pockets, a failed attempt to warm them up. A shiver went up her exposed legs, it wasn't a good day to wear a mini skirt. The down pour from above now came from the sides, attacking everyone as they fled to safety in the research base. Everyone apart from them. She and Hank stood side by side as they watched Charles and Erik attempt to call a cab for their mini 'road trip'. She moodily kicked a stone away into a puddle ahead of them. She didn't want to be left alone, she wouldn't tell Charles but she was scared. Only a little, but her fear wasn't something to be mistreated. She'd be the only girl in the base, apart from Moira, but she didn't count, she wasn't mutant. She stared blankly at the two men until the shorter one turned. Charles ran over to the pair with an umbrella, his feet splashing against the puddles. He held the umbrella out for the three of them, not that it would help. The rain had gone up her skirt leaving her legs damp.

"Bring me back a present." She gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes to her brother.  
"Right," He said, he held her smooth hand in his. "So that's three souvenirs for you, Hank and Emilia." Before Hank could protest, Raven immediately replied.  
"You could just get me and Hank a gift." Charles raised his eyebrow in slight annoyance.  
"And what about Emilia?" A sly grin came onto the blondes face.  
"You could always give Sharon's ring?" He gave a fleeting smile before letting it quickly disappear. He wore a serious expression. She didn't like it.  
"It hasn't even been a year Raven," He spoke with sudden authority whilst he addressed his relationship. "Besides, we're all far too busy." A smile took up half of her face.  
"Alright, just remember that you're nearly thirty years old."  
"And Emilia's only twenty two."  
"Wasn't your mother only nineteen when she married your father?" He sighed looking back at Erik.  
"That isn't the point." Erik made a hand gesture over to Charles, signalling that there was a spare cab.  
"I'm going to miss you." He held his arms out and she threw herself into them.  
"I'll miss you too." He mumbled into her ear. She leaned up to his ear and whispered.  
"Think about it. Who's going to look after you when I'm off traveling the world?"  
A bitter taste came into her mouth, even she knew that that idea was beyond unbelievable. Thought of Charles and Emilia without her began to crawl into her mind, making her feel as if she had applied vinegar to a weeping wound.

After Charles shook Hanks hand and left with Erik. She couldn't help but think about it. Emilia with a white veil and a bouquet of flowers, Charles teaching about mutations while Emilia applauded and cheered for each speech he did, and then both of them living together, without Raven. The image of them without her was easy to think of, but the idea of a once in love Erik and Emilia wasn't. She couldn't stand it, the way her brother would look whenever he caught them eyeing each other, such a disappointed and sad look. She thought of when he had used Cerebro, how Emilia had put her hand on Erik's chest to say something. It was her fault, the way her brother felt was all Emilia's fault. Yet, if Erik hadn't made a comment and if Erik had stopped looking at her the way he already did, would it be? Emilia meant well, she had befriended Raven when she most needed someone, she didn't have to but she did.

Raven now stared out of one of the windows in the front of the base. Maybe she could travel the world. She'd never been to any other countries apart from England and America. Her blonde hair fell in loose waves down her back. She tapped her fingers against the wooden chair she was sitting on, her patience starting to wear thin. It wasn't impossible, it's not like she couldn't afford it. She had lived off Charles' family wealth since the day she had met him. Raven curled into herself, the realisation of that made her feel worse. Her mind wandered off to what Erik had told her when she was with Hank.  
_'If I looked like you, I wouldn't change a thing.' _  
He had made her feel special, just for a minute. Mostly she was embarrassed, but, when the effect wore off she found herself unable to control herself. That moment was all she needed. Then she had realised that he didn't understand. He didn't understand what it was like to hide. He didn't understand what it was like being too afraid to go school as a child in case someone found out. She found herself wondering if he had ever said something like that to Emilia. If he had made Emilia feel like she was the only one who mattered. As Raven saw a black cab covered in rain pull up to the side of the road, she sat up straight.

Pulling herself out of the old worn seat, she darted out of the door. The tall blonde sprinted into the corridor, ignoring the remarks and shouts people made as she ran past. Yanking open the main doors, she noticed the downpour of rain from earlier had finally died down, all was left were small dribbles of drops from above. She stopped timidly, staying by the door as she watched the brunette get out. After she took her suitcase from the boot and then paying the cab driver, Emilia turned around. Her blue-green eyes met Ravens blue and a beam came onto both of their faces. They met half way, both dashing to meet the other.

As they crashed against each other, Raven held on tighter than before, not wanting to let go.

-o-

The helmet was uncomfortable and too big for her head, she noted as Ravens worried eyes, never left hers. Neither did their hands in their small locked embrace. It had been a day since Emilia had come back to the hell hole and already she was being hooked up to machines. Hank had come to her in the early morning, with nothing better to do and wanting someone to impress. He offered her Cerebro, wanting to know if she could cope.

Emilia reacted the same way Charles did, by yelling out, or more like screaming in her terms. It was agonising, her head became over packed and dizzy as she was being instantly attacked by thousands of people's thoughts. They kept coming, one after another. Her grip on Raven and the ice cold rail surrounding her became tighter. The shock stopped soon enough, it became bearable.

Cerebro mentally took her to a bar, no not a bar, a strip club. A short girl glided across the table, surrounded by men of all ages.  
Including Charles and Erik.  
Angel, her name was, Angel Salvadore. Adela's words came straight back to her.

_"There are traitors in your new group Emilia."_

Angel Salvadore, the name was bitter in her throat. Before she could search any further, it all went wrong. She was suddenly being crushed by all the thoughts she had once heard. One after one after one they kept coming. Their feelings rubbed off on her. She felt emotions that went from happiness, joy and love to anger, isolation and pain. But most of all, she felt suffering. Her body began to shake, but not because of what she was feeling. Sparks went off behind her, cracking at whatever was holding them back. It was as if something snapped inside Cerebro, a loud buzz came from the helmet before a sharp wave of shock came over her.  
Emilia's legs gave out under her, her body collided with stone platform. The helmet fell off and rolled on the floor with a clunk. Her body shook against its own will. Her head ached, feeling as if someone had cracked a stone hammer against her forehead. The only comfort she found was the soothing frost like concreate against her own burning body.

Emilia kept her eyes closed, savouring the comforting embrace of ice. Ignoring the cracks and whips of cables above and behind her, she focused on the vision that had unknowingly pulled her from Cerebro.

_They were surrounded by the walls of the monotone office, she felt a stinging sensation ride through her body at the cold breeze rushing in through the small window. 'Black Suit' was kneeled in front of her. His breathing was fast and trembling as his body attempted to control his nerves.  
He was frightened.  
He looked up at her, sweat flowing down freely.  
"Kill me," He stared wide eyed at her. "Kill me now."  
And she did.  
She raised the black gun, which felt too heavy in her hands, aiming it against his forehead. He gave a gentle sigh before she pulled the trigger, sending him crashing down with the crimson that had burst from his head. _

Her eyes fluttered open, a bright beam of light made her squint. Struggling to get up, she felt someone's arms wrap around her waist helping her.  
"Emilia? Emilia, oh my god, are you okay?" When her two feet stood by themselves, she had instantly began to stumble, causing Raven to catch her again. Emilia's hand went up to shelter her aching head.  
"I'm… I'm okay." She managed to sputter out. Raven faced her, both of her petite pale hands rested on her shoulders. The taller girl holding onto her shoulders let her gaze slide down to Emilia's hair. She noticed that Raven's eyes widened slightly.  
"Maybe," Raven spoke hurriedly before brushing Emilia's hair out of view. "It's best if you lay down for a bit." The blonde already began pulling her out of the circular building, Emilia looked back at Hank who stayed by Cerebro, desperately trying to stop it backfiring. She also saw that his eyebrows raised slightly at the sight of her.

She let Raven take her out of the building, through the field and into the comfort of her room. The pain that was being caused by her head forced her to shut her eyes for most of the journey. Raven had laid her down on the bed, babying her, she continued to pull the covers over Emilia's still trembling body. It was only when Raven left and shut the door behind her did Emilia move. She shuffled out of her quilt cocoon that Raven made and padded across the floor to the small lamp. When it lit up, she blinked a couple of times, letting her eyes shortly get used to the light. The brunette clutched her head in her hands as she shuffled over to the mirror on the opposite wall. The plain and bland walls were illuminated by the light, the small little tokens from her apartment seemed slightly darker in mood than usual. The picture of her brother and sister seemed somewhat sadder, their eyes seemed to follow her under their fake smiles, begging her to come home to them. She passed her and Charles on the wall next to her family. While Charles stood out next to her in a light ensemble of clothes, she appeared to be drowned out next to him wearing black. You could barely notice her.  
It was as if she wasn't really there.

The petite girl stood in front of the mirror, examining what had startled Raven and Hank. She dropped the warm quilt she had been huddled in down to the carpet, letting her hair rest freely against her shoulders. She soon saw what they had meant. Platinum strands of white soared through her hair. A huge chunk of her fringe was the major change of colour, then the rest was spread out in different places. Some were underneath her hair while the majority of white rested on top. She stood there for about a minute, just regarding her new hair. She didn't like it, she decided after blankly staring at it. It wasn't her, it was different, it wasn't… normal. She scoffed at herself as she slugged back to the bed. What was normal about any of them now?

She feebly fell onto the mattress, immediately groaning at the never ceasing pain in her head.  
Emilia didn't fret about her hair. Unlike Hank and Raven, she wouldn't worry about her appearance. For now, she had to worry about why a certain CIA officer's corpse was in her vision.

-o-

Emilia span softly in the empty room, letting the music drown out everything. She had been there for over an hour now, she had asked for a room to 'distract' herself. Of course, they had presumed that she planned on reading, which she had, but she had soon spotted the record player in the corner of the room and ditched the idea entirely. Her legs made sharp steps as she danced to Screamin' Jay Hawkins.  
_"I put a spell on you, because you're mine," _His voice rang out against the previously quiet and undisturbed room. She let her bare feet slide against the rough carpet, leaving slight scratches for her enjoyment.  
_"You better stop the things that you do," _She raised her hands above her head and let them swing her around.  
_"I ain't lyin', no, I ain't lyin." _Jay began screaming as she swayed her hips back and forth. Unlike earlier, she was relaxed and actually happy. That's the effect music had on her.  
She hadn't slept that night, she had tossed and turned while everyone else was knocked out. Her headache didn't cease until the early hours of the morning, even if she wasn't in pain she wouldn't have been able to sleep. The image of her murdering 'Black Suit' was enough to keep her eyes peeled. Emilia had tried everything to try to find out why he would die and especially why it was her who killed him, but nothing came. She was even tempted to phone Ms. Adela, she would have if her stubbornness wasn't so high and if she actually had the old woman's number in the first place. She didn't particularly view the CIA officer as a friend, but he had helped them. He had helped them and she murdered him.  
Emilia only managed to get around one hour of sleep before she was out of bed again. The feeling of nausea had woken her and she barely made it to the toilet in time to bring back up yesterday's food. She blamed the sickness on the image of 'Black Suits' brains strewn across the wall. People stared at her hair the next morning, some whispered and some laughed. She swore the word 'freak' was passed around a couple of times. So she changed her hair, it was now a curly blonde which fell in short ringlets to her shoulders. Hank spent the rest of the day testing on her, making sure nothing but her hair was damaged from yesterday.

The song came to an end on the lines _"I put a spell on you, because you're mine." _Jay ended it by screaming, nothing out of the ordinary. Emilia quickly moved over to the record player and pulled the needle off the record. Soon another song began to fill the air as she switched the song.  
_"Wait! Oh yes wait a minute Mister postman," _She walked in time with the music to the small table across the small and bare room. Pictures filled the wooden table, the pictures she had brought with her. Most of them were of her with either Charles or Raven. Although they meant lots to her, Emilia favoured the ones she had of her actual family. She had twenty photos and only six frames to hold an individual picture in. The young girl sang softly to herself along with the song as she decided on what photos she preferred.  
_"Please Mister Postman, look and see, if there's a letter, a letter for me." _As she went to reach up to play with the chain of her necklace, it soon scolded with a heated touch of guilt over her. She noted that it wasn't a necklace from Charles. It was Erik's necklace.

A chill washed over her body and she felt her body begin to shake. It would be a lie if someone thought she wasn't terrified now. Ever since she saw Adela she had had nightmares for most of the nights since. Always waking in a cold sweat, always clutching at whatever she could hold and always petrified. She would convince herself that Erik meant no harm, that he would never lay a finger on her. And she almost believed it, until she'd close her eyes and his angry blue eyes met hers.

_"Please Mister Postman, look and see, if there's a letter in your bag for me." _The song went on and so would she.  
"You know, this is actually a really good song," She jumped at the sound of someone else's voice. She whipped around and faced an unknown young boy. He had long thin ginger hair that went untidily down to his shoulders. Emilia stared at him waiting for him to speak again. He soon got the hint.  
"I like this song, you like this song, maybe we should go out sometime?" She kept staring at him, not knowing if he was joking or actually being serious. Luckily, the person she had been waiting for came to her service.  
"Sean, you haven't been here for more than an hour, I'd recommend giving the poor pick-up lines a rest for now." Charles walked in through the open door way, instantly making his way over to her. Emilia smiled up at him as he wrapped his left arm around her. She gave a quick smile over at Sean as she leaned against Charles.  
"It was nice meeting you Sean." His eyes were opened wide at the realisation over who he had just attempted to ask out. The naturally pale looking boy stuttered multiple goodbyes before he eventually left the room.

She gave a small chuckle at him before turning back to Charles.  
"I'm assuming he's one of the new recruits?" He nodded softly in reply as he played with one of the curls from her fake blonde hair.  
"Yes, he's one out of the four we brought back." Just as he was about to bring up the topic of her hair, she reached up on the tips of her toes so she could reach his lips. As their lips met she couldn't stop the smile taking over her face. She let her arms straightaway snake up to his neck. The only thing that stopped them from their embrace was the song ending and the needle scratching against the record. Emilia stepped away from him and hurried over to the record. He followed her steps. As she went through the vinyl's the base owned, Charles leaned over her and picked one from the pile. He put his left hand over her eyes so she wouldn't be able to see. "It's a surprise." He told her as he struggled to place the record on the stand. When he had finished he pulled her into the centre of the room.

Frank Sinatra's enchanting vocals filled the room as he took his hands off her eyes.  
_"When somebody loves you, it's no good unless he loves you, all the way."  
_He began to spin her around the small area they were in. "I can't dance!" She hissed at him as he waltzed her. He did a mock sigh and stopped them.  
"I suppose you leave me no choice," He spoke in all seriousness. "You'll just have to stand on my feet." Her mouth opened slightly and she felt her eyebrows automatically raise.  
"You are joking aren't you?" He held her hand and pulled Emilia against his chest.  
"Absolutely not, hop on Jones." She gave a small child like giggle as she did what she was told. To her amusement she found that on his feet she just reached up to forehead. Her giggles quickly turned into great outbursts of laugh as he began to stumble over her feet which had just fell onto the floor. Instead of disastrously waltzing, simply swaying and holding each other became better.  
"_Taller than the tallest tree is, that's how it's got to feel."  
_He twirled her out away from him, letting her short skirt fan out around her. When he pulled her back in, she was up against his chest. Charles leaned his head against hers as he held her tightly to him.  
_"Deeper than the deep blue sea is, that's how deep it goes if it's real." _

His right hand slowly and gradually made its way to her hair.  
"Since when have you been blonde?" She closed her eyes shut against his chest, feeling more tired by the minute.  
"Since I decided I needed a change." Her excuse was turned down the moment it came out.  
"I heard that a little hair incident happened while I was gone."  
"By heard do you mean you nosed about in someone's head?"  
He sighed in response. "Emmy–"  
"Fine," She pulled away slightly and looked up at him. "Promise you won't laugh?"  
"I swear I won't laugh."  
"If you do I swear to Christ I will find a way to make you go bald."  
Before he could argue back she turned her hair back to its now current state. There was a couple moments of silence before a small grin worked itself onto his face. She hit him softly on the side of his arm.  
"Stop smiling, you know I can easily get a pair of scissors." He held her hand in his to stop her, her clenched fist easily broke apart.  
"I'm not smiling in a bad way, anyway, I think it suits you." She arched an eyebrow up at him.  
"You do?" Charles smiled teasingly at her and wrapped his arms back around her.  
"It's a groovy hairstyle." She rolled her eyes.  
"I missed you."  
"And I missed you."

They stayed in that embrace, Charles' arms around her waist and hers around his shoulders as they slowly swayed. She fearlessly spoke out loud with her eyes shut.  
"I love you."  
_"So, if you'll let me love you," _Sinatra's voice kept going for their little dance.  
"I'm afraid that I may love you more." Emilia smiled to herself as she buried herself as close as possible to him.

_"It's for sure I'm gonna love you, all the way," _

And in that moment, she felt as if she could live that way forever.

_"All the way."_

-o-

She hated bonding sessions, if that's what you wanted to call whatever she was in. Emilia sat with Raven, Hank and all the other recruits. They had introduced the three of them first to the newbies, thinking it was best to meet other mutants before being bombarded with the CIA.

Obviously, this meant she had to wear the red leather gloves again. Not wanting to make herself look even weirder, she had changed her hair back to her usual brunette colour. It was hard to hide a smile at the boy named Sean's face as he saw her without her fake blonde locks.

After getting over his moment of confusion, Sean Cassidy reintroduced himself and went a bright red while apologising for earlier. His face was much paler than everyone else's, the freckles showering his face stood out more because of it. Sean seemed like the type who would act all confident in front of girls but actually be a nervous wreck inside. When Emilia had shook his hand, he had lightly lifted the leather to his lips and given a soft peck. Of course, this had left Emilia in a giggle fit over how weird it was and Charles giving a loud cough resulting in Sean immediately dropping her hand. Charles then told them how they had found Sean at an aquarium.  
"Quite fitting." She had teased with a small smile which was comfortably returned.

The next one to speak to her was Armando Muñoz. Telepathically, she found out that he was nicknamed Darwin for short. He was kind, friendly and even made her laugh at a couple of stupid jokes he had learnt from his taxi driving days. Then again, it was quite easy to make her laugh. He was around twenty seven or older, older than most of them but still younger than Charles and Erik. His black hair was cut short around his chestnut coloured skin. Unlike the others, his eyes hadn't lingered on her cherry gloves. She liked him a bit more for that.

The usually all smiley girl was less than her happy self when Angel Salvadore came to her. The flashback of Cerebro and the memory of her branding Angel a traitor came back. She raised her left hand out to her.  
"Angel," She told her, as if Emilia didn't already know. "Angel Salvadore."  
Quickly and unhesitantly, Emilia's hand flew out and grabbed the dark skinned girl.  
"Emilia Jones." Emilia noticed that she and Angel were around the same height. She gave a short smile back and let go Emilia's hand as she moved on to greet Raven. Emilia also noticed the way Ravens eyes lit up at the idea of another girl joining them. Hopefully, Raven wouldn't forget about her.

Alex Summers was a completely different case. He had the cliché high school footballer look about him, she assumed that if he was on a team he would have been the one who bullied the others.  
But that was just an assumption.  
He didn't shake her hand, he didn't shake anyone's hands. He just nodded awkwardly towards them. They found him in jail, Emilia doesn't think they know what for, apparently he wanted to be in solitary confinement. She saw his reasons. She had smiled across at him and seemed to be the only one who wanted to attempt conversation with him.  
"Emilia Jones." He gave another stiff nod.  
"Alex Summers," He did a quick glance at her arms. "Nice gloves." A sarcastic smile smirk made its way onto his face.  
"I see solitary confinement made you into a great socialist." She retorted back. She was then silenced by Charles' cold gaze.

Here she was now, sitting next to Raven on the smooth leather couch, being made to babysit. She wanted to know what was going on, why they couldn't tell her. She wanted to know when they could leave.

She had tried, lord know she had tried to be nice and welcoming, but Adela's words had just repeated themselves over and over again.  
_"There are traitors in your new group Emilia."  
_She didn't want to be mean or untrustworthy to the others, but whenever she turned and smiled at one of them the word 'Traitor' was instantly branded into her mind.

She wouldn't tell Charles, no in fact, she couldn't. It would break his heart.

_'Alice didn't think that proved it at all;'_ Emilia continued to read onwards with the childs book which had found its way to her._ 'however, she went on:  
"And how do you know that you're mad?"_  
_"To begin with," said the Cat, "a dog's not mad. You grant that?"_  
_"I suppose so," said Alice._  
_"Well then," the Cat went on, "you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."_  
_"I call it purring, not growling," said Alice.'_

"We should think of code names," Ravens cheery voice took her out of her reading. The other surrounding them in the game style room all looked at her. "We're government agents now," she continued on. "We should have secret code names." Emilia distanced herself out of the conversation once again as she looked around the room. It was large with plenty of space to move around. The walls came across as a greyish crème colour with the lights dimmed. The wall opposite her was white with big fat brown stripes rushing down them. On the wall in front of her, behind Angel and Darwin, was the door leading out to the hallways to their rooms. Outside those doors were two heavily armed guards, both carrying guns. On her right and left side were two walls of glass opposite each other, separating them from outside. On the right side stood a large full body statue of someone whose name she hadn't bothered to learn. On the left was the green field leading out to the golf ball like building which held Cerebro.  
There were a total of four tables in the room, each holding magazines, books, games and other sorts to grab their attention. On their table were glasses of cokes and a small bowl of sweet and salted popcorn. Emilia held one of the books in her hand for comfort, _'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.' _her thumb unknowingly rubbing the new unbroken spine.  
There was a drinks bar in the left corner of the room, it held an assortment from the coke they were all drinking now and to the alcohol that she knew would be opened later. A jukebox sat opposite her against the wall. She was tempted to run away to it.

"I want to be called Mystique!" Ravens enthusiastic smile made Emilia brighten up. That and the little clip of the heel she did with the big dark leather boots she wore, they went up to just below her knees. Her golden hair fell in light curls down to her chest. Raven's eyes were darkened with faint eyeliner just for this occasion.  
"Damn!" Sean replied. He held his glass of coke on his shoulder. "I wanted to be called Mystique." They all laughed at his joke, even Alex made a small smile. Sean wore a burgundy coloured shirt over a grey and burgundy striped top. His mop of ginger hair hung down messily.  
"Well, tough. I called it." Blue scales suddenly ran down Ravens body like a tide coming into shore. It was no longer Ravens human form in front of them, it was now a duplicate of Sean himself. Raven, in Sean's form, wagged an eyebrow in a teasing manner at the ginger boy. Sean jumped up in his seat at the surprise of Ravens transformation, nearly tipping his coke all over him.  
"And I'm way more mysterious than you." She spoke in Sean's voice and manner. Everyone but Emilia was in awe with Ravens gift. They all clapped for her, including Emilia. The shape shifter straightened up as she turned back to her human form, she wore all black apart from the red and cream silk scarf she had wrapped around her neck.

"Darwin, what about you?" Raven asked after she had leaned forward in a mock bow. Emilia knew that Raven was relishing the chance to be appreciated.  
"Well, 'Darwin' is already a nickname, and, you know, it sort of fits," He paused for a quick moment before clasping his hands together in front of his violet-blue polo shirt. "Adapt to survive and all." He rubbed his dark hands together before soon eyeing the fish tank opposite Emilia and Raven. "Check this out." The tall man sauntered over to the rectangle shaped bowl holding exotic fishes with silver and auburn scales. Darwin didn't take a breath, he just dunked his head right into the tank. It was hard to see what exactly was happening at first, then she noticed something move on both sides of his neck. Gills formed on his neck, allowing him to breathe like a fish would. They cheered for him and Raven laughed as he lifted his head back out of the tank. He came to sit, but not before shaking the water off him like a dog would.  
"Thank you," He raised his hand to stop the applause, as he reached for a towel to dry himself off he turned to Sean. "What about you?"

Sean leaned forward in his chair to them, he connected his hands together with thumbs resting against each other.  
"I'm going to be…" While he gave the impression that he was deep in thought, all six of them knew that he had already thought up of one long before he was asked. "Banshee." He finally said.  
"Why do you want to be named after a wailing spirit?" Hank sat up straighter in his chair confused, his blue cardigan was opened to reveal his checked shirt which sported colours such as amethysts and pale creams.  
"You might want to cover your ears." Sean went forward to the table in between them and bent down so he was in direct line of the empty glasses. They all uncomprehendingly looked around at each other, not knowing what he was about to do. Eventually, they all did what was told and placed their hands tight over their ears. Sean took a deep breath in, preparing himself for what was to come, he moved his head slightly to the right and then opened his mouth. A loud squeal at such a high rated frequency flew across the room, stinging Emilia's ears. Although it was impressive, it didn't quite go to plan. Instead of damaging the glasses as planned, it was the glass wall to their right that was affected.  
It smashed into a billion pieces, hanging there like a curtain in a theatre for a moment and then instantly falling to the ground. Not a single shard of glass was left around the edges, it had all gone. There a shocked silence from everyone as all of them tried to register what had happened. Instantaneously, a groan came from Emilia and her body decided to cringe into itself. Whilst everyone else, apart from her and Hank, laughed, she let her head fall into her hands. So much for babysitting.  
"Please tell me," Emilia spoke to no one in particular. "That did not just happen."  
"I'm afraid it did sunshine," For a teenage boy, Sean was astoundingly cocky. He turned to Angel. "Your turn." Angel pushed herself out the leather sofa opposite Emilia.

"My uh stage name is Angel." She had a great smile on her face and spoke as if she was making a joke out of it. As she shed her black leather jacket off, revealing her shirt covered in small flat metal studs which relied on the support from the neck to hold it up, a low whistle rang out from Sean. The dark haired girl turned her back to them, showing her bare shoulders which were covered with a tattooed pair of wings.  
"It kind of fits." The exquisite tattoos began to move around her shoulders until they actually began peeling off. They wiggled around, getting used to the room they were being given and began to flutter by themselves. The wings were a violet colour, covered in small intricate details. Even Emilia had to admit that they were beautiful.  
"You can fly?" Raven questioned, she was in complete awe of the girl in front of her. Angel nodded while answering her question, she continued showing off her wings.

Sadly, to Emilia's dismay, the word traitor still rang loud and clear in her mind.

"Oh, and..." Angel straightened up and turned to the side, facing the wall which no longer held glass. She noticed that Angel's hair was the same colour black as her dress with one or two strands of dyed blonde underneath. The winged girl focused her view on the towering statue outside. She too, like Banshee, had a peculiar talent with her mouth. When she opened her mouth, out sailed a ball of what seemed to be acid, it soared out through the broken wall and continued until it landed on top of the head of the statue outside. As soon as it hit the head, the top burst into small smouldering flames.

Like before, everyone apart from her and a quiet Hank laughed and clapped, while Emilia bit on her thumbs nail and closed her eyes in horror. She was not getting the blame for this.

"What's your name?" Angel smilingly asked Hank as she put her jacket back on. Emilia wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head against them as Hank looked away at the ground, not knowing what to say. Alex gulped the last of his drink down before answering for him.

"How about Big Foot?" Raven quickly came to Hank's defence as Emilia sent Alex an ice cold glare.  
"You know what they say about guys with big feet," Raven then regarded the boy's shoes. "And yours are kind of small."  
Emilia smirked as everyone, including Hank, chuckled at Ravens comment. All of them had not noticed the small look the odd pair next to Emilia gave each other. "Okay, now." Alex spoke, putting their teasing and whoops to an end.  
"Emilia, you haven't spoken much tonight," Darwin smiled warmly across at her, aiming to save Alex. "What can you do?"

She sat up slightly, like everyone else had done when it had come to them. Emilia felt herself subconsciously rub her thumb up the spine of the navy book again. She felt her cheeks start to heat up as everyone began to stare at her.  
"I, um, I mimic other peoples mutations through touch," She glimpsed quickly to Raven before holding her hand to show an example. "I've touched Raven so I can…" Emilia let her actions speak for her. Like Raven had done before with Sean, she changed her body to identically match Ravens. The same sensation happened like it did every time, a certain type of buzz washed down her body, turning it into a quick state of numbness until she saw blonde locks appear on her shoulders. Her body grew taller in size, she felt Ravens tights form onto her legs and the self-conscious part of her noted that her stomach became skinnier as well.

"I've also touched Erik." A wolf whistle hollered out from, no surprise, Sean. Raven then dropped Emilia's hand and shuffled away slightly on the leather couch. Emilia observed her and saw that Raven wasn't thrilled with the teenagers comment. She spotted a metal bucket which usually held bottles up to the brim with beverages and was at all times filled with ice. She upraised her hand a tad and made a tiny flick, causing the ice packed bucket to come gliding, quite discreetly, towards her. Instead of allowing it to fall downwards onto the table, she forced it to hover above Sean's head, patiently waiting for him to take notice. They all watched with entertained stares as Sean only then stopped shoving popcorn into his mouth, he eyed them all confusedly around the room.  
"What?" He asked bewildered with his mouth still full. "Is there something stuck in my teeth?" Darwin did a subtle nod up to the floating bucket above him. As he noticed it, Sean shot up in his seat and made a poor attempt to shield himself. Of course, it was no use. Emilia had already did a twist of her wrist, permitting the ice to descent down in freezing rocks onto his face.  
The room erupted into amusement as Sean's high pitched squeal cried out and his stunned appearance didn't change until she spoke again.

"Because I've touched Charles," Even though he was still in minor shivers from the downpour of ice, the fair faced boy was nevertheless able to keep up his wolf whistle.  
Emilia allowed the bucket that still hung in the air to plummet onto his head with a clang. "Because I've touched Charles," She continued on, ignoring Sean's outraged cry of pain. "I can also read minds and control thoughts like him."  
"You can read minds?" Angel cried out. Her cheeks changed into a bright pink at the idea of Emilia reading hers.  
"I only the read ones I need to," She gave a forced smile to Angel. "I haven't read anyone's here if that's what you're worried about." Angel gave a small genuine smile of her own to Emilia. The brunette felt sick to the stomach at that moment. Angel give the impression to be a nice person and Emilia had already judged her. In the corner of her mind, a bunch of flags were being waved with the idea of Angel being a turncoat. She decided to continue on.  
"I'm also psychic."  
"Well aren't you the whole package?" Alex Summers spoke with his eyebrows lifted up. She presumed that he was impressed. She rotated herself around to him, with a comfortable smile on her face.

"So what about you? What can you do?" Alex turned his blue eyes away from her and looked down at the floor, all of a sudden becoming shy. His white top hidden beneath his black jacket seemed to make his cheeks redder than they were. The blue eyed boy locked his gaze on his drink, making sure that he wasn't able to look at anyone else.  
"It's not... I just can't do it," He put his hand through his hair, now only meeting a few of their stares. "I can't do it in here." Darwin pointed his hand outside to the statue with wisps of flames still coming from Angel's acid attack.  
"Can you do it out there?"  
"Why don't you just do it out there?" Raven asked. Soon, they, apart from Hank, were all chanting for him.  
"Alex! Alex! Alex!" They clapped and stomped their feet against the floor in encouragement. Alex exhaled and pulled himself out of the seat. He raised his hand up to stop them in modesty as he clunked his bottle onto the table.

As he walked out through the broken wall of glass, he didn't bother turning back to them as he declared in warning.  
"Get down when I tell you." They all hurried over to the right side of the no longer existing wall and peered out. Emilia and Angel stood in front of the small group to their petite height, even then they had to lean over the brick layout covered in the walls shards of glass. Alex stood a fair distance away from them and the statue, he ruffled his shoulders a bit to prepare himself.  
"Get back." He ordered them. Their heads promptly disappeared back into the room. However, a few seconds later with nothing happening, six faces reappeared hanging out of the wall in curiosity.  
"Get back!" He demanded again for their own safety, a hint of annoyance was in his voice. Their heads didn't budge this time.  
"Whatever." Alex spoke to himself.  
Unfortunately, Emilia choose that moment to blink.  
When she next opened her eyes she saw around three scarlet plasma type blasts surge through the air before them. As the red infernos whipped throughout the air, she tumbled back into Darwin and Hank for protection.

If they weren't getting into trouble for demolishing the glass wall in pieces or scorching the head of the statue with acid, then they definitely were now.

The plasma blasts had soared airborne, slicing through the sturdy metal. It became ablaze without delay, igniting in horrifying crimson and orange flames. The great statue of a fonder standing strong split in half instantaneously, its upper body toppled over and dropped away in a clatter to the ground, leaving its legs to flame alone.  
Emilia and Hank watched in horror as the others started to applaud and encourage Alex's destruction. Hank stood with his mouth agape next to her, too appalled to even move. The wide eyed girl's hands went to both sides of her face as she groaned silently to herself.  
She was in so much shit.

-o-

Maybe it was because she knew how much trouble she was already in, or maybe it was because she just wanted to fit in with the others, it didn't really matter apart from the fact that she was no longer sober.

They had all apologised to her when they realised how much damage had been done. Darwin, being the gentleman he was, had made her a drink and she had chugged it down instantly. It was on her fourth drink when the buzzing feeling had started in her body. She was light headed and the damage previously caused was no longer on her conscience. Emilia had declared herself in charge of the jukebox, watching the others dance as she stood by herself, just watching. Her gloves were her only company and restriction from the others.

It was Darwin who came over to her, telling her to put on 'The Twist' by Chubby Checker. As the opening tune had begun to play, he grabbed her by her covered hand and dragged her to the centre of the room. He had spun and twirled her, and she couldn't stop the obnoxious giggles that had left her mouth, even he and the others laughed at her enjoyment. Darwin gave her leather covered hand to Sean after that, letting him dance her about. While Darwin had twirled her around the room, using as much space as possible, Sean had only used his hands. Emilia had copied him as he did vigorous hand movements to the next song playing. Standing by him as she did a more slowed down version of the dance, she noticed Alex just sitting there on his own, watching everyone else, like she had been. So she went up to him, pulled him into a dance like Darwin had done with her. Emilia had expected him to say no and leave her looking the fool, but he hadn't. Their dance had been twirling each other under each other arms and making fun of as many dances they could think of.

"Wait a minute!" Raven had exclaimed. They had all stilled to listen to her. "We didn't make codenames for Emilia and Alex." Raven remained on the leather couch nearest to the fish tank looking over at them, raising a drink high above her head, a drink that Emilia certainly hadn't given her.  
"I think Alex's should be named 'Havok'." Raven grinned brightly down at him, attempting to please him. The destructive boy smiled back at her before he strolled over to the drinks bar.  
"Havok's cool." Raven kept her happy persona on knowing that she had been approved. Emilia wondered if this was the first time her friend had ever been with a group people and actually felt welcome. It most likely was.  
"What do you want to be called Emilia?" Angel sat on the armrest of the couch, intently watching her. There was nothing easy that came to mind for her, her mutation wasn't exactly that specific. She had absolutely nothing.  
"I don't know." She answered truthfully.  
"Oh come on," Raven hopped down off the couch. Her playful tone still carried on through her small stumble. "You have to have something." As Emilia was about to open her mouth to reply, another person spoke.

"Pandora," They all turned to face Hank who now sat himself down on the couch across from Raven. Hank, realizing that the attention was now on him, became flushed. "I, uh, I mean, well uh, I think that Pandora would suit you." She smiled at Hank softly and came to sit on the arm of the seat. Emilia voiced her own knowledge curiously to him.  
"Pandora, after the woman who opened a box that released all evil into the world?" Hank readjusted his glasses nervously. She became aware of the fact that he wouldn't meet her eyes.  
"Yes, th-that did happen, but," He turned his legs towards her as he finished fumbling over his words, hoping that he hadn't offended her. "There was also hope in her box. I, personally, took the story as a way of suggesting that, against all evils, we must remain with hope." He smiled anxiously up at her, it was a type of smile made when you were trying to please someone. She didn't particularly know what he was trying to get at, but she assumed that it must have been a compliment.  
And Emilia had been impressed with his reasons. In fact, she had taken it to heart.  
"Thank you Hank." He had given a small smile and nod as he soon went back to what he was doing before.  
Neither of them had noticed the lingering stare given from Raven.

Now, they were all off doing their own little thing. Darwin had adapted his body into a rock type shield. Obviously, Alex and Sean were now using chairs and small tables to full out pelt at Darwin. Hank was hanging upside down from one of the low hanging lamps by his giant feet. Angel had taken to the air and was flying around the room with her wings, all while dancing. Emilia and Raven were on the couch nearest to the fish tank dancing together. Although Emilia wasn't flying around the room, changing her body into rock or hanging upside down, she was guilty to making most of the metal objects in the room levitate around them all.  
She was also guilty to changing her appearance, for fun this time of course. She had changed her hair to a bright bubblegum pink and it now fell in soft waves down to her waist. Raven had joined in changing her hair colour to a deep royal purple. They were having fun, so much fun that Emilia's face ached from smiling so much. It was as if she had no cares or worries in the world.  
"What about Charles and Erik?" Asked a loud mouthed Raven. Emilia struggled to hear her.  
"Huh?"  
"I said, what should Charles and Erik's codenames be?" She had to shout over the blaring music. As Raven's hair curled up into an azure pixie cut, Emilia remembered the time when they had walked with Charles after his graduation.  
_'Don't call me professor,' His eyes had narrowed down at her, but not in a mean way.  
'What're you going to do?' She had begun to tease as his hold became tighter on her. 'Spank me professor?'  
_An uncontrollable laugh and a giddy wave came over her.  
"Professor X," She started to jump up and down with the beat of the song. "We need to call him Professor X." Raven began to jump along with her.  
"And Erik? What do we call him?" She let her eyes wander to a pair fluttering wings, Angel swayed happily by herself. Emilia shrugged her shoulders in reply. A small grin came onto Raven's face.  
"Magneto! He should be Magneto!"

They were slamming chairs and tables at Darwin at full attack. Although it was out of character for her, she began encouraging them on.  
"Come on! You can go harder than that." Darwin provoked them. She found herself in hysterics when Alex broke a chair leg from god knows where and started beating Darwin's rock hard arm. "Harder!" He yelled again at Alex. Emilia stumbled off the couch, holding Ravens hand tighter than before, a wave of light headedness crashed over her. As she began to turn her now waist length hair into a lime green, a voice began to yell.

"What are you doing?" They all turned to see a pissed Moira McTaggert with her hands on her hips and a scowl covering her face. Raven suddenly stopped dancing and hopped down to join Emilia, they were still holding hands. Angel fluttered her wings one more time before falling into place behind them. Hank shot off the ceiling as fast as he could and Emilia rapidly began to change her green hair back to her ordinary style. All of the metal pieces she had allowed to drift around had instantaneously plummeted to the carpeted ground. She heard a minor crack come from one of the ornaments she had lifted. From the corner of her eye she saw the boys throw down whatever they had been manhandling Darwin with, the unbruised martyr had quickly turned back into his human skin.  
"Who destroyed the statue?" Moira demanded with arched eyebrows as she pointed to the demolished half statue outside.  
"It was Alex." Hank's nervous outburst made the light headed girl giggle slightly. Moira's view quickly zoned in on the ornament that Emilia had just dropped to the floor. The brown eyed CIA workers face turned red with fury.  
"And who chopped the leg off of the ballerina?" Moira spoke through gritted teeth. Emilia could tell that it was Moira's favourite decoration.  
"That was Emilia, not me." Alex spoke in his own defence. The guilty one sent daggers at him through a cold glare.  
"No, Havok and Pandora." Raven said through her beaming smile as she raised her arm to stop them. "We have to call them Havok and Pandora. That's their name now." Emilia's closed mouth smile began to slowly fade away as Raven spoke their immature idea of codenames.  
"And we were thinking," Raven continued on, not quite registering the serious and unamused looks that were being given to her[ET1] . She walked forward over to them. "You should be Professor X," She pointed to Charles. If he had got the inside joke then he certainly wasn't acting like it. His hands were placed firm in his navy blue trouser pockets, he wore a let-down look on his face. Emilia could already feel her heart sink. Moira gave a look of outrage and disgust to him for Ravens actions. "And you should be Magneto." She pointed over to Erik. Unlike earlier, Ravens idea didn't the please the others.  
"Exceptional." Erik said sarcastically. He then turned his back on them all and walked away. Moira shook her head, appalled at them all, before following him. Charles gave Raven a disappointed look.  
"I expect more from you," As he went to join Erik and Moira, he then regarded Emilia. "That includes the both of you."  
Emilia felt a barrel of shame being poured over her head. The minute Charles went around the corner, she instantly put her arms around Raven. She felt even worse when she saw Ravens disheartened eyes watch Charles leave.  
"We should probably clean this place up." She voiced to the others, attempting to distract them so none of them could see Ravens face about to crumble. She gave the blondes shoulders an extra squeeze before she let go.  
"I'll be back in five." She spoke softly to Raven. As she moved forward, she heard a couple of the others reply.

Emilia quickly stepped over the dumpy bricks which had once supported the wall of glass. Undersized shards of glass crunched against the floor as she landed on them. A slash of pain attacked her heel. She speedily found the three of them walking away in front of her.  
"Charles!" The small girl's voice called out. "Charles wait!" He turned around at the second shout. She swiftly jogged up to him. She saw that he wasn't pleased. They stood there in silence for a couple of seconds, just staring at each other. Mostly because Emilia hadn't thought of what she was going to say, but, she'd like to think that he was quiet because he felt a hint of regret about what had just happened.  
"Emilia please, don't do this now." His hands were still shovelled into his pockets. Her eyes widened slightly. He rarely used her full name, it was always just Emmy, to him and Raven.  
"Do what?" She noticed that Moira had stopped and was waiting, rather impatiently, a few metres in front of them.  
"Look Emilia, I've got stuff to do- and Jesus Christ," Charles took his hands from his pockets and rubbed his face roughly. "I can't even look at you."  
"What? I haven't done anything wrong." She opened her palms out towards him in honesty. It turns out he could look at her because he did it just then. His pale face wore a bewildered look.  
"Emilia, you've vandalised private property."  
"That was Sean and Alex, all I damaged was the ballerina and that wasn't even on purpose."  
"You were supposed to be in charge, I trusted you to look after them."  
"I'm not a damn baby sitter Charles!"  
"Charles, we haven't got long." Moira interrupted them, giving Emilia a dirty look. She must have really liked that Ballerina figurine.  
"Time for what?" Emilia asked confused at Moira's words.  
"We leave for Russia in fifty minutes." She stilled for a moment, her face dropping at what had come out of Moira's mouth. She slowly turned back to Charles who had been watching her reaction. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.  
"Were you even going to tell me?" She asked in a surprisingly quiet voice. "In fact, were you even going to say goodbye?"  
"You were supposed to be coming with us, but seeing you're not mature enough to even be around alcohol without being on the piss, I don't think it's the best option anymore."  
"Oh that is rich, that is rich coming from you considering all the nights Raven has had to wait up for you all alone-" Charles snapped at her.  
"Don't you dare bring Raven into this!"  
Emilia stopped abruptly at his outburst. She blinked more than twice before finding the courage to carry on.

"She was having fun tonight Charles, and it's probably the first time she's ever had it with a group of people other than us. Tonight was the first night where we could all be ourselves for once."  
"Charles we've haven't got long." Moira stated in a strained tone. Emilia glanced over at her and saw that she now seemed a little more uncomfortable than usual.  
"Were you even going to tell her that you were leaving?" Emilia went on, not really caring if Moira saw them argue, not even caring if they missed their flight. "When are we going to be told what's going on Charles? Since we've been here you've told us nothing about what's been going on." Neither of them broke eye contact with each other. Her pale green eyes, which could have easily been mistaken for a blue, seemed to become wilder and more demanding.  
"When am I going to come first Charles?" She scrunched her eyebrows together and narrowed her eyes up at him. "Or am I always going to be second best to your 'Greater Good'?"  
"Emilia, I will not argue with you over lack of attention." There was a dull throbbing in her head.  
"It's not that you don't want to argue, it's that you don't care." She bit back, raising her voice.  
"Charles, we've got forty-five minutes until the planes leaves."  
"What is it that you want then Emilia?"  
She knows what he wants her to say. He wants her to say that she wants him, that there is nothing and no one she wants other than him.  
But she has to tell the truth. Because that's what he wants, not her.  
"I want to go home Charles."

There were still tufts of smoke rising from the statue, gradually, they begun to float over to them, reminding her of what caused them to be here. The smoke travels up her nose, making her not able to smell anything but the burnt debris. Erik's necklace still hangs around her neck, she's suddenly more aware of it now than before. She wonders how Charles would feel if he knew that she was wearing it. Would he be upset, angry or just annoyed? She knows that if he knew, he would go out of his way to buy her an even better one, just to impress her.  
She doesn't want that. She just wants him to be happy. She wants them to be happy, like they used to be.  
It seems that recently, she has been stabbed repeatedly with a knife laced with guilt. He looks at her now as if she's a completely different person.  
"Do you think I'm doing this for myself? That I want to be fighting against Shaw?" He acts as if she's the one who has got everything wrong. "I want the same thing as you, I'm doing this so we can go all home."

_'Damn you_ _for thinking that you're doing this for the greater good,' _She thinks in her head as Charles' sky blue eyes locks onto hers. _'Damn you and your big heart.'_

"No," Emilia heard her voice crack slightly, tiredness was seeping through her. Whenever she thinks of home, the red door pops up in her mind, along with the spring flowers blossoming in the bushes and the gentle whisper of the wind blowing through her hair. The sharp smell of a citrus fruit tree that had failed to grow came back to her. Her sister and brother come to mind. Bonnie's naturally dark ginger hair and Steffon's blue-green eyes, her eyes. Emilia knew that wasn't what Charles meant. "I'm afraid, that we don't want the same thing Charles."  
She took a couple of steps backwards, stumbling away from him and away from Moira. The small stones spread out across the gravel underneath her bare and naked feet began cutting into her. Emilia felt a certain kind of ache spread through her heel as she began to shiver. The wind had begun to blow ever so slightly, bringing over a mighty chill. Emilia was beyond cold.  
"I think," Her voice shakily picked up again after an inevitable silence. "That it might be a good idea for you to say goodbye to them all before you leave," She continued walking back. "Because you might find that some of us won't be here when you get back."  
Whilst the image of 'Black Suits' corpse came back to mind and his blood cursing her hands, she knew that Charles had taken what she had said in a different way entirely.

Emilia limped away from the two of them, leaving a trail of blood behind her in her wake.

-o-

She had helped clear up the glass with the others after Darwin examined her foot wound. That was a difficult task considering that she wasn't actually allowed to touch anyone in the room apart from Raven.  
"It's only cut, you'll live." He had said, as Raven had helped bandage it up. She felt like an idiot.

Twenty minutes had gone before she saw Moira again. Emilia had been collecting the empty glasses around the room, putting them all on one of the tables, not really knowing where to take them. Moira explained what was going on, explaining that they were going to find Shaw.  
She doesn't know what else she had said, Emilia had left halfway through.

Charles had not came to say goodbye to Raven. Raven, who had not meant to offend him through her actions. Raven, who looked up to Charles since the moment they had met in his kitchen.  
She had past Erik in the hall when she was returning to her room. Like always, he held his head up high with an aura of superiority that never seemed to leave him, even in his darkest moments. His brown briefcase swinging by his side as they had past each other.  
They hadn't bothered with formalities, ignoring each other once again was the best path to take.

She hadn't slept well that night, guilt had ate away at her not letting her be in peace. Did she go too far? Had she ruined things? Was it wrong of her to speak what she felt?  
No, she knew she was right. She was allowed to speak her mind, just because she was a girl and wasn't as 'important' doesn't mean that she couldn't have her own opinion.  
Emilia got up around two am in the morning. Not able to stand the coldness of her room. She padded over to where a blanket lay, discarded on the chair. She wrapped it around her just thought.

The research base was like the Garden of Eden and Charles was Eve. He saw the base as a sanctuary, safe-haven for them. But then that's the part of the story when the snake comes, tempting him and deceiving him.  
Was the snake Moira or any of the other officers that couldn't be trusted?  
Or was it her? Distracting him from what he was destined to do? Eventually leading him to be out casted, while she would also have a price to pay.

She huddled under the blanket on the bed. Gradually, it became silent.

-o-

She's running. Just running. Running from what? She doesn't know. All she knows is that she can't stop. Running, always running.  
Surprisingly, she isn't out of breath.

She knows it's a dream, the grass is a jade green instead of its usual colour. Although it is night and the sky is dark, the black abyss has too many tints of purple to be true. She should be able to feel the pain of exhaustion, she should be keeled over gasping for breath.  
But this is a dream. You don't to catch your breath. They catch it for you.  
_'This is a dream_,' she tells herself. _'I don't need to catch my breath. Someone will catch me.'_

The grass she runs on goes from the research base to Cerebro. Dreams are never exact. Not even if it's your parents you dream of, they aren't the same. She isn't surprised when she sees that the building holding Cerebro isn't crystal white. It's also further than it is in reality. It's glowing, a glowing scarlet ball. A glowing ball of light. A glowing ball of energy.  
A glowing ball of hope.

Someone begins to shout after her. She thinks they're shouting her name.  
What was her name?  
Did it matter? After all, it was just a dream. Or was it? A dream shouldn't be this detailed, she shouldn't have time to distinguish what colour grass is when dreaming.  
In fact, she shouldn't be discussing this now when she was in a dream.

She stopped abruptly in her tracks and looked up at the sky. She's waiting. She seems to have been waiting for a while because vines had begun to crawl up the side of a wall in the distance, growing fresh and plump fruits like oranges, apples and pears. Soon, they tragically dropped off the vines, becoming a twisted and sour black, beginning to mould with age.  
Surprisingly, she hasn't lost patience.

The voice continues to cry for her, the child's voice begins to weep as she continues to stand tall and mighty. Like the statue outside earlier. Before it came tumbling down and broken in half.  
She should be bored of waiting by now, she should be continuing on her journey.  
She should be.  
But this is a dream. You don't need to wait. They'll wait for you.  
_'This is a dream,' _she told herself. _'I don't need to wait. Someone will wait for me.'_

She's reminded of that old Vincent Van Gogh picture as she looks up to the night sky. The stars are gold swirls cascading around the sky, making the world, in her opinion, beautiful.  
And oh god it is beautiful. It's the greatest thing in the world. She's enchanted by it. She wants it, no needs it. She can't stop herself from falling in love with it. She's more in love with it then she is with Charles.  
The wailing stops. Now that was an ice cold stab to the heart. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, she loved more than Charles.  
Or was there?

The stars are calling, calling for her. Calling for light, calling for energy.  
Calling for hope.

She finds what she's waiting for. The stars send it from the sky to her. A gift from the gods.  
'Black Suit' falls with such grace and elegance she almost doesn't believe it to be him. He lays on the floor in front of her. A dark halo quickly forms around his head on the ground.  
Sadly, she doesn't go to his body, she walks over it.  
She knows a dead man when she sees one.

The march to Cerebro was quick and made it easy to forget about the CIA officer.  
Whatever his name was anyway.

She strode up the steps to the red crystal ball. It wasn't as pretty as she thought it would be. There was a slam against the wall of the treasured building. It was a copper coloured hand striking out against scarlet. Then another hand came, then a body and then a face.  
Darwin's face in fact.

The voice that had come from nowhere earlier was back, blubbering and whimpering as her hand went out to the key locking her friend from the outside.  
_'Come join me,' _she thought sweetly as twisted the magnificent marble around in the door handle. _'Come join me in my sweet sanctuary.'_ The voice began to scream with shrieks as the door swung open.

The marble key snapped in half instantly as she took it away. It crumbled apart as Darwin's hand slid away. The fairy tale scarlet ball she had thought glowed with greatness was not what she thought it to be. But it did glow.  
It glowed with death.

Thick, agonising crimson spilled out of the door at her. She didn't fall and she didn't feel the impact.  
That doesn't happen in dreams.  
Darwin's dark-skinned corpse stays in the mouth of the ball.  
The blood is heavy, ill-fitting to her small and fragile body. But this is a dream, she can be as strong as a lion if she wanted to be, viciously clawing, savagely attacking the frail and needy. She can be as brave as President Kennedy seems to be when he addresses Russia, telling his people they will strive through the oncoming rough and dark patches in life.  
Has Kennedy nearly been drowned in the blood of his allies and foes alike? Have lions ever felt the need to protect and love like she did? No, she didn't even think that Kennedy has spoken out about Russia yet. That's another vision that had come early for a couple of weeks in advance.

It wasn't just one lonely voice now, there were more, they howled in her ruined world. The jade grass was now black and dead to the touch. The purple highlights haloing above were now plummeting to the ground, breaking under eyes. Golden stars which had once looked over and protected her were colourless and drained of hope.  
Her hope, her world.

She's hoping. Just hoping. For what? For home? For their safety? For her visions not to come true?  
All of those things.

But this isn't a dream. You need your own hope. They won't hope for you.

_'This isn't a dream,'_ she told herself. _'I need my own kind of hope. No one will hope for my sanity.'_

Her dreams were the only sanctuary she got from her visions. They protected her from them, giving her peace for a couple of hours. But not now.

Her safest haven has been violated and attacked by her own demons.

-o-

She launched herself out of the bed as she felt a pair of hands roughly shake her.  
"Emmy? Emmy!" She looked up and saw Raven in her human form staring down at her, blue eyes wide in concern.  
Emilia felt a certain feeling of bile wash its way up her throat. She regrettably pushed Raven aside as she hurled herself towards the bathroom. As she leaned over the toilet seat, letting yesterday's food spill from her mouth, she felt Raven hold her now natural brown and white stricken hair away from her damp face. Her hand stroked Emilia's back in comfort.  
_'I don't deserve this.' _She thought as Raven kindly made sure that she was okay.  
But she wasn't okay, the image of Darwin's and _'Black Suit's _corpses stayed fresh in her mind.  
What she had wasn't just a dream.  
It was a vision and her worst nightmare collided into one.

-o-

**_Russian Military Retreat_**

The room was exceptionally quiet, apart from Emma Frost's hard laboured breathing. Charles was currently kneeling in front of her, his eyebrows knitted together in curiosity as she attempted to restrain her mind from the telepath.

He had run here after Erik had gone off on his own mission. Sebastian Shaw didn't turn up, instead his right hand woman, Emma Frost, had come in his place. Erik had harmed many Russian soldiers in his path of destruction and Charles had to quickly clean up the broken debris after him. When Charles had eventually caught up with him, they had both charged in on her telepathically seducing a Soviet general. After the bewildered general was knocked out, she had shifted into her diamond form without delay and had attempted to sprint. They had caught her and dragged her back against the metal bed posts, Erik making the metal wrap around her wrists to detain her. His companion had caused them to become tighter each time she didn't answer. Ultimately, he found it upon himself to force the bar to coil around her neck with ease, causing the beauty to nearly suffocate, making her diamond forms neck to begin cracking apart. He had stopped, after persuasion from Charles.

Now they were here, Charles placing his fingers to the side of his pale forehead, ready to search the mind of the woman clad in only her white underwear. Erik had stuck around, sitting down in a chair out of breath and drinking. Fully prepared to choke Shaw's ally to death if need be.

The two mutants facing each other's blue eyes contrasted against one another. Her ice cold eyes began to challenge him, making him question if he really wanted to see what she was thinking.  
A change of heart seemed to spring from her, she began to freely show him what she wanted him to see. He went past all the unimportant thoughts and carried on until he was met face to face with Shaw.

_Shaw stood in front of a huge map showing all the countries. His navy suited arm reached out and took a missile marker, he moved it from the United States all the way down the map to Cuba.  
Her thoughts raced forward. He was now shown a representation in her mind of a group of missiles being launched from America to Russia and then Russia launching back at them. Both countries going up in the flames of war. Shaw wanted World War Three. _

_"We are the children of the atom," Charles watched as Shaw and his group of mutants stood in front of millions. "Radiation gave birth to mutants. What will kill the humans will only make us stronger." He saw everything in flames as people below them began chanting for their one true leader, Shaw._

_That wasn't what scared him the most though. Among the five mutants was Emilia. She stood next to Shaw and Emma, brunette hair flowing in the wind as she stood dignified, smiling and eerily calm among their enemies. _

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He was brought back out of his thoughts to Emma. She stared at him blankly, watching his reaction. Charles' eyes stared down at her with an unforgiving look.  
"Why was Emilia there with you and Shaw?" Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Erik immediately came alert at the mention of her name. The stone cold beauty leered up at him. She said nothing.  
Erik got up to his feet, his glass tumbling down to the table and came by Charles.  
"Tell us." He spoke through gritted teeth. Emma's lips didn't part with each other. The metal wrapped around her throat began to tighten incredibly.  
Charles didn't stop him this time.  
Emma's eyes fleeted across the room, searching for help from anything. Her throat burnt against the solid rope as she felt it dig roughly into her skin. Erik only stopped when she began to turn a few shades paler than before.  
"Tell us." He demanded again. They let her have a couple of moments to recover.  
"He said," Her breathing was deep, her body heaved against the misused metal. "She's an asset to our survival."  
The two men froze, not understanding what she meant. "This is worse than we previously imagined," Charles recovered as he looked up at Erik who still had beads of sweat on his hairline. Charles turned to her. "We're taking you with us. CIA will want to question you themselves."

"Oh, I doubt it." The white queen spoke dismissively. "They have bigger things to worry about right now." They looked confusedly at her. Surprisingly, she answered their unspoken question willingly.

"Shaw's a busy man who likes to take trips. It's a shame you left your little bird behind."

-o-

Emilia had been forced to spend most of her day in her room by Raven.  
"You're ill," Ravens golden locks had tumbled down in light curls as she dragged Emilia back to bed. "You need rest and plenty of sleep."  
_'No,' _she had thought silently to herself as Raven attempted to make her move into the itchy covers. _'Don't make me sleep again, I don't want to sleep again.'_

Throughout the day she had been sick only three times. She was tired for most of the time, nearly drifting towards sleep and leaving reality at times. Emilia wouldn't let herself though, always stopping before the boat would hit the deck, before she blissfully fell.

It was around nine o'clock in the night when she next left her room. She was looking for the others, hoping that they had heard something from Charles or Moira.

The moment she stepped out of her rooms doors, she regretted the decision instantly.

Down the hall, in the thankfully opposite direction of where she needed to go, were a small bunch of CIA workers.  
Immediately, they had noticed her.

"Hey sweetheart, where you off too?" One shouted after her as she begun to walk. Emilia stopped in her tracks and twisted around to them. A few sniggers came from a variety of them as the one who had called her took a swig from his metal flask.  
"Off with the other freaks." A young blond haired man spoke out, mocking her. He had traces of acne on his cheeks. She wheeled away from them and continued down the hall.  
"Is that where you're going Hun?" The black haired man in front asked, the same one who had spoken to her first. "You going out to go play with the freak show?"  
She was nearly there, nearly at the end of the hallway, nearly away from them. Just ten more steps.  
"Hey, maybe she can get a little 'freaky' with me sometime."  
Seven more steps.  
"Bet you when she takes that dress off everything stays where it is."  
Four more steps.  
"That Charles bloke is lucky though,"  
Just one more step. She was so close to smashing his flask to pieces.  
"I mean, look at her. Firm tits and a tight fit."

Emilia subtly twisted her wrist abruptly to the side as she turned the corner. She heard something crunch behind her. The sound was closely followed by loud painful shriek, allowing her to leave unnoticed.

The CIA workers wondered how the scorching hot tea had _'magically' _cracked the flask in half, burning the black haired officer.

-o-

Something was wrong, she decided as she walked along the empty corridor. There was no one in sight, no sound came from anyone. There was just nothing. The flat shoes she had quickly slipped on made clipped noises. The lights above her flickered on and off, a small chill went up her spine.  
The fire doors at the end of the corridor seemed to call for her, telling her to go outside.

If the small light hadn't convinced her to make her move, then it did now. Small cracks and pops began to fill her ears behind her. Emilia whipped around and saw nothing. The lights continued to flicker on and off, making her feel even more paranoid.

It was the screams that set her off.  
There were shouts at first, she began to walk backwards towards the exit slowly. Her breathing became faster and her heart rate picked up. Then there were the guns, only one or two shots fired.  
A shot is still a shot though and that meant someone had to be the receiver.  
The crack happened again, except this time it was above her. She looked up at the boards above her, the sound had come from the next floor up. That's where the scream came from, a man's scream. She had trembled in the middle of the hall, not knowing where to go.

The crack happened again, except this time, it came from around the corner. That was when the lights around her cut off, flooding her in darkness. She let out a quiet shaky breath as footsteps resounded off the stone floor just around the turn of where she was standing now.

She took a big step back with her right leg, preceding with her left and then right again, her left, and then she had veered around. She began to sprint the rest of the way until she let her body hit the fire exit with all the force she could muster.  
The heavy doors flung open, leaving her to continue running out, before snapping shut behind her.

The air was cold, it nipped at her skin. The sky above her was black, there were some clouds. No stars were in sight. The small amount of grass was barely able to see. Her legs carried on running underneath her, taking her away. Soon her legs began to ache and sharp breath taking pains came in her side. But she kept going, kept running until she saw the statue that Alex had previously destroyed. They had replaced the glass wall quickly and also put green curtains in that were blocking her view from the others.

More cracks began to happen around her. So much that she nearly thought that it was only her that was hearing these things and that she was ultimately going insane. She bent over, her hands holding onto her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Emilia heard a murmur of voices before the green curtain in front of her parted.  
They had all looked confusedly at her, wondering why she was there. It was Darwin who shouted through the glass to her.  
"Can you hear that?" Another crack happened, this time it was from above. They all looked up.  
"What is that?" Darwin asked. Thousands of metres in the sky, two figures appeared. A crack happened again as one of those figures disappeared. It was then that she realised what was happening.

The second figure came plummeting down at such a speed that Emilia had barely any time to move out of the way.  
She already knew who it was.  
_'Black Suit' _only stopped screaming during his fall when he hit the stone ground. The second his head caved into concreate, it cracked and blood was flung onto Emilia's legs, staining the white pencil skirt she wore. Ignoring Raven and Angel's screams, she slowly came down to her knees next to him.  
This was her fault.  
She saw a card that had fallen from his pocket on the floor next to him. Her hands shook out of guilt and fear as she reached over and picked it up. It was an identification card used to enter the CIA base.  
_'Henry Lloyd.' _It read, telling his date of birth and what department he worked in.  
She hadn't even known his name. They all hadn't bothered to learn it.

His lifeless eyes were still open, his glasses also hadn't fallen off. Emilia slowly pulled his big rimmed glasses off his face. She folded his glasses together after she gently slid his eyes shut, laying them carefully on his chest.

Her fingers were coated in the crimson that freely run from his head. She felt a small ache beginning to build its way up to her throat.  
'_No,' _she spoke silently to herself as she felt her eyes begin to water. _'You will not cry, Charles put you in charge. They all need you to be strong.' _Emilia looked up and found five eyes staring back at her. Raven stood against the wall, in front of the others, with wet cheeks.  
Raven understood the pain.

She began to get up as she heard more cracks throughout the morbid night sky. She heard a scream come resounding through the air, getting louder as the next man fell with no chance of survival. He fell onto the small roof to her right. He landed with boom and a squeal from Raven. The glass roof he landed on shattered underneath him, spraying small shards all other her. The rain of glass fell onto her head, a couple made scratches on her face. Then there was another body, then there was four more, and then another one. She lost count, the cracks and screams all eventually became the same.

Emilia looked up at them all, remembering her dream.  
_'I can be as strong as lions,' _she reminisced. _'I can be as brave as Kennedy.'  
_But do lions protect their pack? Is Kennedy even brave or strong without his administration? Wolves protected their packs, didn't they? The mutants looked at her with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. Although they were protected by a wall, they still crouched down hiding from outside.  
To her, they were a small pack of wolves. By being separated from them, out here, in bloodshed, meant that she was the lone wolf, surviving in the wild.  
She stood up with shaking legs, she walked bravely around the dead man and went towards the glass. Raven stumbled forward to meet her.  
"Get out," Emilia had to shout for Raven to hear her. "Get everyone out now!"  
"Where?" Raven cried out loud back to her. "Where do we go?"  
"Get out front and call for back up!" The girl who Emilia considered a sister began eyes began to water.  
"Emmy, what if Charles doesn't come back?" Emilia paused.  
"We can't afford to think like that." Bravely, Raven gave a nod. She watched as Darwin came behind Raven and pulled her away softly.  
"Look after them." She shouted to Darwin as she began to back away. He nodded and as they both turned to the group behind them.

_'The lone wolf dies,' _Emilia thought snidely to herself as she ran past the current field of slaughter. _'But the pack survives.'_

She sprinted to a different end this time, knowing a short cut that would take less time to get through to the front. Her heart beat furiously against her chest as Harry Lloyds blood began to dry against her skin. As she passed the piling bodies, she couldn't help but think about what Raven said.  
What if Charles didn't make it back, what if none of them made it back in time to help them?  
There was no time to go to the front of the base, she propelled her body through the set of doors before her. She'd have to use someone else's telephone.

-o-

She takes a left, then two rights, another left and then one more right before she ends up nearly coughing up her lungs outside someone's office. The door was left agar, confirming no one was in it. She moved noisily, catching her breath as she closed the door behind her. The carpet was a navy blue, her feet sunk in deeply. The walls were a bright white, she swore she saw flecks of blood cover a region.  
The phone was in the middle of the table waiting for her to use. A book was opened next to it, phone numbers sprawled all over. Moira McTaggert's name was at the top.

How convenient.

She dialled the number, with shaking fingers as her left hand, still gloved, and held the phone handle. When it began to ring she switched to her right, she knew it wasn't going to be Moira who would pick up. Her teeth started to bite down against her lip. Moira was their only hope, she knew who they were dealing with.  
"Hello?" A deep voice answered her hidden prayers.  
"Hello," Emilia attempted to speak with authority. "I'd like to speak with Agent McTaggert, it's an emergency."  
"Who is this?"  
"Emilia Jones, I'm part of the mutant X division team. Please may I speak to Agent McTaggert."  
A scatter of voices began calling out through the phone.  
"What's wrong John?"  
"Who is it?"  
"Some girl named Emilia Jones," He replied to them. "Claims that there's an emergency."  
Another cluster of voices began to speak.  
"I've never heard of her."  
"She's one of them freaks dumbass."  
"Charles, its Emilia."  
"Is she alright? Is something wrong?" She heard Charles' voice ask.  
"She's asking for Agent McTaggert."  
She heard the short scuffle made when the telephone was being passed around.  
"Hello? Emilia?" Moira's voice answered. Emilia had never been so happy to hear her voice.  
"Yes it's me. Moira, where are you?"  
"We've just landed and starting to drive back. Only now plugged in the chord for the phone. Emilia, what's wrong?"  
She hesitated then, freezing up. _'The pack survives.' _A photograph of a small child, no older than the age of three stared at her from the corner of the desk with big optimistic eyes.  
"Emilia? I swear that if you've broken something else then just put the phone down."  
Did the man who murdered this girl's father feel any regret? What about the girl, she'd grow up with no father, would she know what happened today?  
_'The lone wolf dies but the pack survives.'  
_"Emilia?"  
She took a deep breath. _'I can be brave.'_

"The base is under attack."

There was a pause in the conversation from Moira's side. A couple more cries rang out from a distance.  
"What?"  
"The base is under attack Moira."  
"By who?" Emilia's head flew up, she swore she heard a creak come from outside the door.  
"Shaw, I think it's Shaw." Dismissing the noise, she hung her head down and continued flicking through the phone book the CIA kept, looking desperately for other numbers that could help.  
"You think?" Moira asked slightly outraged. The girl rolled her eyes, they didn't have time for this.  
"Yes, I think. Now listen to me," She took a nervous breath in, seeing all the bodies outside in the back of her mind. "It's a slaughter, nearly everyone's dead."  
"Is she alright?" Charles' voice was easy to pick up over the line. Moira didn't answer him.  
"Moira," She began again, grabbing her attention, "I've told the others to get out, I don't know where they are now but," Emilia opened her mouth to voice her fears. "But, Moira, I don't think we're going to make it."  
In fairness to her, the CIA agent replied automatically.  
"Don't you dare speak like that, Emilia, you're going to get you and the others out of there alive," Moira took a breath, trying to comfort herself. "I'm sorry, but we're at least four hours way... you're on your own for now Emilia."

Another creak echoed quietly outside. She took no notice.  
"Now," Moira went on with a commanding edge to her tone. "You need to try to keep us on the line and updated at all time." She nodded in reply, she quickly stammered out a yes after realising that they couldn't see her.  
"Charles wants to speak to you, is that alright?"

Before she could reply a click of a gun went off and something ice cold was placed against her temple.  
Moira appeared to have heard it too.  
"Emilia what was that?" Emilia let herself glance at his name tag.  
"I'm afraid Moira, that Benjamin Lawrence has put a gun to my head." Her voice was calm, collected and confident over the line. In reality her hands wouldn't stop shaking and her eyes were now locked in battle with the towering man.  
The same man who had been by her room.  
_'Firm tits and a tight fit' _the sinister voice crawled back into her head.  
Ah yes, she remembered him.

She didn't know what Moira had said next, the dark haired man grasped the phone with his left hand and slammed it down onto box. His hands were wrapped in thick white bandages from when she had _'accidentally' _caused his tea to scald him. Lawrence's limp black hair fell down onto his forehead, falling out of its jell hold.  
"Outside." His voice wasn't filled with the joking tone as earlier. He also didn't give her a choice. The amber eyed worker's clenched onto her and dragged her out of the seat. "Hands on your head." Emilia stepped out of the room before him, her gloved hands holding onto her head.  
The gun was still pointed at her.

He poked her down the corridor towards a group of five men. They were also the same ones from earlier.  
"Jesus Christ Ben, what are you doing?" One seethed, looking past her at the foul smelling man holding her captive.  
"_It_ wants her James, not us." They stared at her, observing her. Realising that she wasn't a threat, they turned away from her and begrudgingly carried on down the corridor. All apart from one.  
"This is wrong Ben." He was younger than the others, still had a baby face. Traces of acne crawled up his cheeks.  
"Maybe we can give you to them instead? How'd you like that?" He hadn't bothered sticking up for her again.

There was something in the air has they walked down that corridor. She thinks its fear. The cries echo from ahead of them to the small group as they shuffled hesitantly onwards. The four offices surrounded her and Lawrence, forming a four sided square. The cracks came closer to them, she knew that by the time they reached the end of the corridor '_it'_ would be here.  
"You try any funny business and I'll put a bullet into you and your freak show friends heads. Got it?"  
A silent nod was sent his way.

It was then that the devil himself decided to join. He came quietly, if it wasn't for the crack that warned them of his sick ways, they would have never of known. It was the young boy that had questioned Lawrence's actions that got picked first. The huge bang against the floor outside indicated that the acne wasn't only thing scaring his face. The men around her raised up their guns, pointing at the unknown. It seemed that the disappearing man got bored of his act, he came back with two blades and began slashing at the men surrounding them.  
He was far from human, with crimson skin that was nearly as dark as the blood pouring from open wounds forming on the men surrounding her. Scars littered his body showing that he had been in, and won, many fights. His black hair was as dark as death itself.  
She took this as her chance, before she even knew it, her hand twisted by itself making the rope of energy to bend the gun resting against her head in half away from her. Emilia stumbled forward a couple of steps before feeling a pair of hands clench onto her shoulders. She was roughly yanked around to face Lawrence's face full of rage. He held on tight to her shoulders, so tight that she thought the ends of his fingers were forever embedded into her skin. She'd have marks the next day, her skin bruises like a peach.

No one warned her of what would happen next, no cry of warning, no vision to protect her. As Lawrence went to open his rubber like lips, the crack happened again. He came behind them, coming to protect her, like a knight in shining armour.  
She'd never forget what happened next.  
The small girl let her eyes flicker past the heavy man holding her to the red skinned warrior holding his weapon high up in the air. It came crashing down rapidly meeting its target. Bright silver opened Lawrence's throat wide, warm dark crimson crashed swiftly down onto Emilia's face, the blood that had not touched her had swam freely, staining his crisp white shirt. He fell to the floor, only letting go of her when his body met the cold tiles. She stood still, frozen in shock as she watched the demon man yank his freshly stained blade out of the dead man's pale neck.  
The man wiping the blood of the murder weapon was not a knight, he was the devil wearing a black suit drenched in sin.  
Even more guns came from afar, footsteps came tearing down the white lifeless halls towards them. Her eyes would not leave the dead surrounding her. The steps they took became louder, warning the two that they were advancing, devil before her came to her. A gruesome scar went down past his left eyebrow to below his eye, she wonders if it was from one of his victims who fought back. His unkempt jet black hair which had been gelled back began to fall over onto his forehead. The tail connected to him seemed to strong enough to register as an extra limb. _'Black Suit'_s murderer gripped onto her left shoulder.  
"Stay here." He spoke to her with a thick Russian accent. She didn't look at his face, finding herself unable to spare a glance at him. The blade was now unstained, appearing as if nothing happened here. On the handle was a face with a thin tongue sticking out with a ghoulish expression, two green and gold dragon heads were attached at the hilt of the blade, their tail travelled down the middle of the weapon that had killed hundreds. A crack came, marking his exit.  
Emilia, ignoring his words, ran as fast as her blood covered body let her. She gave one glance back, seeing that her shoes had left crimson footsteps after her. _'He'll track you,' _her survival instincts rose to its highest peak. _'He'll track you down and slaughter you like the others.' _She tore the black flats off, leaving them behind with the dead.

For a girl whose short legs were never her strongest features, she ran faster than the men outside. Her bare feet slapped against the cold tiles as she made herself go faster until she reached the room which held the others. She was almost there, two more turns and she'd find out if they had escaped. When she turned the first corner, she was met with seven slain bodies.  
She felt her heart drop.  
She was too late.

Emilia hesitated as she took a step over someone's body, her naked feet doused in a pool of their fleeing blood. What if Raven was dead? She picked up the pace.

The brunette pushed the metal doors open with her gloved hands. She was met with the group of mutants she had come to call her friends.  
"Emmy!" Raven had cried out, stepping out towards her. Her cheeks were still wet and it seemed that the sight of Emilia made more tears fall. It was Darwin who had stopped her, putting an arm in front of her body so she couldn't leave. It was only then did she notice the others in the room. Sebastian Shaw looked her up and down, evaluating her and her body.  
"You're the mimic," He moved over to her with an air of sophistication surrounding him, it was so strong that it nearly overwhelmed her. Shaw gave a slight shrug. "Not exactly _the_ telepath we were looking for, but you are one aren't you?" He came closer to her, she glared up at him and kept her lips closed.  
"Let's make a deal," The older man came to a halt in front of her. "I'll take this silly thing off, and you'll take off those gloves." He spoke with a smile on his face as he referenced to the helmet he wore. He gave the impression that he knew she would do what he said. And she did.  
She peeled them off her pale arms slowly, relieved to be free from them.  
"Good," Shaw gave a smile that almost came across as genuinely caring. "I'm surprised that your telepath hasn't taught you how to control someone else's mind," The ridiculous helmet hanged by his side in his hand. "You could have stopped me and my two friends here."  
Guiltily, she found herself secretly blaming Charles. She remained emotionless as Shaw slowly walked away.  
"Good evening," He addressed to the small group in front of him. "My name is Sebastian Shaw," He began to walk towards them. "And I am not here to hurt you."  
A lone, and most likely last surviving soldier raised his gun at them through the smashed glass wall.  
"Freeze!" He yelled. Shaw continued to walk calmly ahead, he spared only one glance.  
"Azazel." He ordered as the scarlet villain teleported out of the room. Emilia turned her head away as brave soldier gave a sharp and last cry before he fell to the floor dead.  
"My friends," The American continued onwards, handing his helmet to the young man in the grey suit on his left, her eyes latched back onto him as she watched him go on in his navy blue suit. "There is a revolution coming. When mankind discovers who we are, what we can do," He looked them all individually, eyeing them up. "Each of us will face a choice. Be enslaved or rise up to rule." The blood that covered her face and neck had begun to dry up, she found it hard to keep attention.  
"Choose freely, but know that if you are not with us, then, by definition, you are against us." The purple shirt he wore went nicely with his navy shirt, she wondered if it was covered in blood.

"So, you can stay and fight for the people who hate and fear you," Emilia eyes rested on the man whose throat Azazel had slit. "Or you can join me and live like Kings." Everyone, including herself, had looked down at the ground, wondering what the life Shaw was offering them would be like. The only person who didn't look away was Angel. Shaw's eyes found her doe ones and added. "And Queens." His hand opened up, offering her a chance to be free. Emilia watched sullenly from the side as Angel's black polished nails reached out for his palm. He turned the considerably small girl around to Emilia, holding her petite hand as he led her to the other girl he needed.

"What about you sweetheart?" Shaw blue eyes seemed to crawl through her mind. He held his right palm to her, also giving her the chance of a new life.  
She didn't know if she was supposed to be revolted at herself, before she knew it her hand went out. Reaching out for the chance of not being called 'freak', she wanted to be free, she deserved to be free. Her skin almost touched his before she remembered.  
This wasn't right.

Her hand hovered over his, debating whether or not to take it. Slowly, after she made her decision, she let her hand do what felt natural. Letting the once hopeful eyes of Angel fall downcast to the ground, Emilia took her hands away, hiding both of them behind her back. Shaw's smile faltered, he took his hand away and pulled something out of one of his hidden suit pockets. A folded white envelope was in his hand, he held it out to her. She wordlessly took it from him.  
"A little persuasion never hurt anyone." Shaw turned away, taking Angel, who wouldn't meet Emilia's eyes, along with him.  
"Angel?" Raven didn't understand.  
"Are you kidding me?" Sean asked, outraged at her betrayal.  
"Come on," Angel's voice was strained, as if she just wanted to break down. "We don't belong here, and that's nothing to be ashamed of." They watched grimly as she turned her back on them.  
As Shaw led the way he gave a nod to Azazel. Instead of going over to the group he was meant to depart with, the demon walked straight over to Emilia.

It wasn't until he roughly grabbed onto her covered aching shoulder did she notice him. She raised her dumbfounded look from the envelope to him. He began to pull at her, forcing her to come with them.  
Emilia began to fight back when she realised that Shaw was going to take her whether she wanted to or not.  
"Emmy!" Raven cried out for her as she began hitting out against him. His hands clawed at her turtle neck sleeves to keep her still.  
"Hey, let her go!" She saw Alex walk forward a couple of steps over to them out of the corner of her eye. Finding the strength, she twisted around and brought her hand up. He tried stopping her but it was too late. Her hand had already touched his course face and she failed to take it away.

It was different this time, this time there was no enjoyment of absorbing another's mutation, there was just horror. The veins in her arms stood out a violent dark blue, travelling all way up to her neck and beginning to stand out against her fair coloured cheeks. As her eyes met his blue, she saw that it wasn't only his mutation she had absorbed, it was his memories. She saw horrible things, she saw him being called the devil's child from birth, she watched hopelessly as she watched him being victimised and mistreated for his appearance. She also sees his first kill. Sadly, she sees no love, but every cloud has a silver lining, he was accepted by four people, Shaw's group of people. It was only when he dropped to the floor did Emilia let go of him.  
"I'm sorry." She stammered out to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He cut her off by snarling at her in his mother tongue. He pulled himself off the ground and marched over to Shaw, staggering slightly. Shaw watched her with a bemused expression.  
"You're a god among insects Emilia, don't let anyone tell you different." They watched helpless as Angel began to leave with the three men.

"We have to do something." Raven spoke to the group of boys she was left to stand with. Emilia still looked horrified down at her hands. She had hurt him, physically and mentally. That had never happened before. Darwin, feeling as if the matter at hand relied on him, turned to Alex. An unspoken compromise was made between them, soon Alex shoved him away in a quick anger.  
"Stop," Darwin tore himself away from the blond boy as he called out to the group leaving them. "I'm coming with you." He ambled over to them, Angel smiled to herself seeing her friend changing sides. Shaw smiled in victory and a let himself take a couple of steps forward to meet him. "Good choice," He stopped in front of him. "So, tell me about your mutation."  
"Well, I adapt to survive," The others in the room behind him began to regroup next to Emilia, their unforgiving eyes never leaving the group. "So, I guess I'm coming with you."  
"I like that." Shaw nodded to himself, clearly impressed with what Darwin was saying. He opened his hand out to welcome the dark skinned man a place, clapping his hand on Darwin's shoulder. Raven's hand tugged at the sleeve of Emilia's turtle neck. Darwin stood next to Angel, holding her hand before staring long and hard at Alex.  
Something was wrong. Emilia felt a hoarse cry leave her mouth when she understood. Everything in her dream was coming true.  
"Alex!" Darwin shouted at him.  
"Get out!" Alex cried at the mutants behind him. Emilia felt her hand automatically grab Ravens and pull her to safety.  
"Do it!" Darwin wrapped his arms around Angel, pulling her to the ground as he adapted himself into a solid rock defence as Alex caused three scarlet rings to fire at Shaw.  
Except, it didn't as planned. The whirling rings were stopped and melted into Shaw's body as Alex's face fell.  
"Protecting your fellow mutants?" Shaw's voice became deeper as his hands outstretched, storing the energy just given to him. "That's a noble gesture," Alex's arm slowly came down to his side as he stood there in the room alone and targeted. "Feels good," Shaw said rolling his shoulders with a sadistic smile on his face. He turned to Darwin, Angel's 'saviour' pulled his arm back, launching a punch at the older man. Shaw raised his now gigantic hand which was still evolving and changing, stopping Darwin's fist, his right hand latched onto the heroic man's chin, challenging him.  
"Adapt to this." He whispered, staring into his eyes, a ball of fiery red energy was obtained in Shaw's fingers. Forcing Darwin's mouth open, he slowly pushed the death ball into him. As Shaw finally let go of him, Emilia watched in horror as the sickening red was visible against Darwin's skin. It travelled through down to his chest before the mighty crack wavered in the air, announcing their new found enemy's departure.  
Metal was the first thing he turned into, a natural reaction to the uncontainable heat. Her breathing became out of time and her hands began to shake as she watched him.  
She could have stopped this.  
His body was smooth, sleek and cold, she hoped that means he doesn't feel the pain. Darwin's body adapted into stone, it was scary at how much he resembled his natural human self. The bright scarlet still shone through the cracks formed in the stone, trying to find a way out, trying to find a way to kill him. He looked at a mortified Alex, ever so slowly, Darwin lifted his hand out to his friend, trying to show that it wasn't his fault.  
Because it wasn't, it was Emilia's fault, his blood was on her hands.

The one thing Emilia hated more than herself at that moment in time was false hope. You could say it was crueller than making someone walk on pieces of burning glass. That's what happened to all of them. Darwin's face had begun to alter back into his human form, his safe form. It only lasted for a second, maybe longer, letting them believe that he was going to be alright. That was before a burning flame ruptured over his body, setting him alight.

That was when hell erupted.  
Darwin's body burst into millions of scalding rocks, hitting her and everyone else in its monstrosity. She span her and Raven around, sheltering them both from the beams of light blinding them all from the explosion.

Whilst the other four turned around to look at Darwin's remains, she kept her back towards him. Her eyes were glued down to the cream envelope with her name written in an elegant font, she quite liked the way the 'E' in her name was made to resemble a number three. She carefully unstuck the lip of the envelope, making sure not to rip it. When she opened it with trembling hands, the smell of citrus and sage met her nose.  
The smell of home.

A photo laid in-between the thin paper, hiding a picture of her and Bonnie from so many years ago. Emilia had been at the 'independent' age of four, her sister was only two. They wore matching dresses that would have made the elder cringe if the situation wasn't so severe. Her mother was in the background, her hair had been dyed a dark ginger then, like Bonnies.  
Like the blood stained fingerprint stained on the back on the photo. Shaking, she turned the photo around, her eyes widening at the small print which was obviously her sister's finger. The same neat swirly scrawl that had declared her name was on the back. A sentence was written in a black fountain pen, but not in English.  
_'Gott unter den Insekten.' _It read, Shaw had wrote in German, leaving her in the dark with her sister's life.

That wasn't the worst part, what she found next made her want run home and protect her sister from Shaw's claws then what was left in the rapidly chilling card.

Emilia's eyes had caught hold of a blooded crimson contrasting against the thin material. There was a faint pink colour alongside it, it was almost the colour of her sister's untouchable skin. The tips of her fingers went in first, gradually reaching lower and lower until she found a part of her sister. The crimson she saw was three dark locks of her sister's hair, wrapped in a pastel ribbon, the smell of citrus had grew so strong it began to burn her nose. She saw a leaf, a leaf that had once grown from the tree her mother had grown outside their house.

Not only did her nose ache from her new remnants of home, but so did her heart.

* * *

Ohh I deserve an extra review from you for the Alice in Wonderland reference? Oh go on then :) **WHAT DID EVERYONE THINK OF THE SHAW PART AT THE BEGINNING? PLEASE SAY!**  
Ah so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I'm sorry for the late update, I've been doing exams and finished my schools production of 'Annie' a few weeks back.

So what does everyone think of Emilia's codename? Do you like it? Let me know in the reviews!

PREVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER: Division X move to Xaviers Manor, Emilia asks Erik for help and Raven concerns others about Emilia's 'illness'.

* * *

**THANK YOU'S!**

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Reviews:

LuckyAsLockhart \- _Omg I know, I'm so sorry for the wait! Awh thank you, I try to make them as good as I can.  
__P.S. Who says that Erik kills the baby? Who says that the 'Metal Man' is Erik. Could be that it stands for something/someone else ;) x_

eleir_ \- Thank you, I'm glad that you're enjoying! :)_

Guest_ \- After this, the next update might be in December due to mock exams and shtuff. I promise to update as soon as I can._

myharlequinromance321_ \- Thank you! I'm so pleased that you're enjoying this fic as much as I am. Haha, I did get the reviews I needed but I ran out of time. P.S. Love your music taste ;) x_

_Lady Syndra \- Here you go!_

_Skyeward MusicLover \- Thank you! I was a bit nervous about that chapter, infact I might go over it and re-edit it._

**_Thank you all for your kind and loving reviews, they mean alot!_**


	9. The One Who Spills the Cup

**Chapter Seven - The One Who Spills the Cup.**

_**"Don't you ever let a man tell you who you are or make you feel like you are less than he is."  
**\- Sister Jude, American Horror Story: Asylum_

* * *

"Miss Jones, I don't believe you are telling us the truth."  
The Officer narrowed his eyes down at her as his beefy moustache twitched to the side. It was eight o'clock in the morning and the research base lay in ruins behind them. Smoke rose to the heavens as the ashes below scattered past the corpses. Corpses that were only now being collected. Emilia sat in front of the base, the stones crumbling off the short walls painfully engraved themselves into the back of her thighs as she sat surrounded by the two men. One was a short and plump Officer with a humongous waistline and a large moustache that covered his mouth, the other was a new recruit, skinny, lanky and covered in acne. Just like one of the boys that was slaughtered.  
_Just like the boy who allowed the others harm you.  
'Nice thoughts,' _Responded a reasonable voice. _'Clean, nice and happy thoughts make the world go around.'  
_If only.  
"What part did you misunderstand, sir? The part when I was being used as a sacrifice or the part where we all watched our friend die?" She glared up at him as the Officer's eyes bored down at her. They stood opposite her, arms crossed against their pale blue shirts attempting to intimidate her. She would have been, only if Alex had left her side. He stood behind her, acting as her own personal guard dog as he had refused to leave her as the two figures of authority wanted to speak with the young and 'weak' woman _alone_. Certain atrocities could be left to another day.  
"The part where we found five dead bodies killed by a 'devil man' whilst you remained unharmed?"  
"Are you calling me a liar, Officer Walter?"  
"I'm not calling you anything, Miss Jones," His moustache twitched again. "I'm just implying that you're also not telling the truth." Ignorance should have been Barry Walter's middle name.  
"I had nothing to do with those deaths."  
"You were the only one covered in someone else's blood, miss." The young one gulped as she met his pair of hazel eyes. Emilia noticed that his lips were cut from him biting down from nerves.  
"I'm five-foot-three, how am I supposed to take out five agents men who all had guns?"  
"I don't know," The Officers moustache twitched again, much to her annoyance. "Maybe you allied up with the enemy? Maybe it was you and the other freaks that killed our friends?"  
"I'm getting the sense that you don't like me or the rest of us."  
"You're right there sunshine, you are right there." He held a metal flask in his right hand, the other stayed at his waist. "Well," He began again. "Let's hope you're telling the truth, Miss Jones. The minute we find those freaks, we're going to lock 'em up and swallow the keys."  
_We are not freaks. _  
"That's a big amount of keys to swallow, Officer," Her eyes fell to his expanding stomach. "Is that why they hired you?" His face turned beetroot as his mouth snarled at her. His flask was discarded onto the wall next to her small figure as he launched forward. Alex and the recruit stepped in harm's way as they blocked her view.  
"Barry calm down," The young one pleaded as the officers moustache pulled back to reveal a couple of chipped teeth. "We're not even supposed to be questioning them, they're all in shock." Alex Summers turned around to her and raised an eyebrow as the ginger boy's pleas became desperate.  
_"Behave." _The blond reprimanded her silently. She went on to ignore him as 'Barry' continued to lash out.  
"I'm sick of this shit, I came to this freak because I wanted to give her a piece of my mind."  
_Please don't call me that.  
_The Officer turned traitor on the boy as he whipped around at an incredible speed for someone his size.  
"What's your excuse, _Adam_?"  
_Yeah, what is your excuse, Adam?  
_"I think we should go, Barry. It's been a long day, you need rest." He fumbled for words as his cheeks hinted at another answer.  
"Or," Barry stepped in again, not caring that Raven, Hank and Sean stared across the yard at them. "Is it that you wanted a peek at the freak show that's come to town?"  
_Don't call us freaks.  
_"Think of it this way," Emilia slung herself right back into the ring. "If you guys are leaving, then who's going to keep me company?"  
"You're just going to have to wait until the rest of your circle of freaks come back."  
_Don't call Charles and Erik freaks, you're both half the men they are.  
_"If they come back."  
_They'll come, you wait and see.  
_"Princess, we just need you to retell what happened last night, then, we'll be on our way."  
_I don't want to relive that night ever again.  
"_I've already told you what happened, the rest is just a blur." Adam sighed and turned to Barry.  
"We're wasting our time, she ain't gonna say no more."  
"That's just negative thinking, Officer." Barry leaned over his rolls to retrieve his full to the brim flask as Alex's hand squeezed onto the covered part of her shoulder. That was a sign for her to shut up.  
"Miss Jones, there are three kinds of people out there. You've got the optimists that believe the glass is always half full, the pessimists that think the glass is half empty," Emilia gave a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes up at him as he carried on. "Then you've got the paranoid that believe someone's drinking out of their glass." Adam seemed to catch his drift as they both decided to come closer to her, making her feel suddenly claustrophobic.  
"Which one are you?"  
Sometimes, Emilia wished she could hold her tongue.  
"Me?" Her blue-green eyes focused on the metal flask in his hands as an overwhelming sense of _déjà vu _crept up on her. A stifled cough came from Alex as he tried to make her remember her place. And she would have, only if Officer Walter hadn't called her a _'dumb bitch with big tits' _in his unprotected mind. "I'm the one who hits the glass over."  
Then the flask cracked just like it had before and the scolding hot liquid came down onto the cops as Alex dragged her away.  
_We're not freaks._

-o-

She's already packed her bags, they all have. The sinking feeling of having to march through the destruction around them to find her room still hung heavy in her heart. All of her photos apart from the one of her and her family are untouched, that one picture however has disappeared into the blue and she feels as if nothing can replace it. The envelope holding Bonnie's hair and picture is always within her reach, her grip from it never sustains as she's too nervous to let it go for a split second. It was now nine o'clock and the _'back-up'_ she had asked for was nowhere to be found eleven hours later. Raven sits next to her, shivering as she bites down hard on her thumb whilst rocking back and forth.  
"It's so cold." Emilia's eyes flickered to Raven as she watched the blonde rock.  
"Here." She pulled her own coat off, covering Ravens shoulders with it. It wasn't even that cold, some men around them were walking around in shirts that bore their entire arms. Raven gave a short smile.  
"Thank you."

It was only them sitting on the stone wall now, she noticed that the bushes surrounding them made it feel more closed off to the world.  
"When are Charles and the others back?" Raven's feet scraped against the gravel underneath as she asked, Emilia's barely reached the ground.  
"Four o'clock."  
"In the afternoon?"  
"In the morning."  
"But, that was five hours ago!" Raven's appalled voice broke slightly.  
"Yeah," Emilia spoke dryly. "Well they must have gotten stuck in traffic."  
There was a silence that filled the space around them as they both refused to speak. Raven's hand unconsciously found Emilia's and gave a light squeeze that said _'It's going to be okay.' _But it wasn't, Darwin was dead, so was _'Black Suit' _and every single person who worked at he base was being searched for ID on their bodies. _'Black _Suit's caved in skull came to mind and so did the smell and the image of the warm crimson oozing out of his head. A metallic taste came to her mouth as the brunette bit down hard on her bottom lip, a poor attempt to stop the dizziness over washing her. Bile broke its way up her throat as she dropped Raven's hand and sprinted over the wall to the bushes far behind them. Her feet pounded against the grass bank until her heart leapt out of her chest then back and forced her to stop. She collapsed onto her knees and the sick rinsed itself out of her system. When it was done and her face was no longer damp and her body was no longer heaving, she turned to find Raven. She stood behind Emilia, her fingers tangled in her own type of death trap.  
"It's shock." Emilia didn't look Raven in the eye.  
"I don't remember you being in shock yesterday, or the day before," Ravens unpleased face glowered down at her. "Maybe you need to go see a doctor?"  
"No," Emilia pulled herself to her feet. "No doctor." She left Raven there as she walked away in the same blood drenched clothes that she had worn yesterday.

-o-

Eventually, she finds herself gaining relief from Hanks presence. Not that there is much of it, he's busy being in charge because she's too _'shaken up'_ to do it anymore. Which is pretty pathetic, for her anyway. Staying still doesn't help anything either, you'd think that by being immobile would keep you concentrated on your surroundings, it doesn't, all it focuses on is Darwin's body exploding and Henry Lloyd's falling body. Her eyes flickered over the rest of them, Raven, Hank, Alex and Sean. Like her, they're all tired and desperate with nowhere to go. She begins to rock back and forth with her head pressed into her hands, thinking that the images of them dying will leave. They don't.  
Lawrence stands in front of her again, just like he had yesterday. Except this time, she's the one with the blade, she's one holding it high in the air and she's the one bringing it down.  
_'_Stop it, that didn't happen!_' _She's begging her mind. It whispers back to her.  
_'But it's what you wanted.'_

She hugs her knees to her chest as Darwin's face invades her.  
"Stop it." Her fingers tangle themselves in her hair, dangerously and painfully yanking at strands.  
_He's dead because you didn't leave with Shaw.  
"_No, not my fault."  
_You've always been a selfish bitch Emmy, this is low, even for your standards.  
_"Not my fault."  
_Who's your next victim? Raven or Charles?  
_"Leave them alone."

"Emilia?" Hank's voice pulls her away and she's met with his pair of blue's hidden behind glasses. "You okay?"  
"No." She wasn't lying this time. _'Don't cry, don't you dare fucking cry' _she clamped her teeth down on the nail of her left hand as her right stayed clutching strands of hair.  
"Maybe, you need sleep?" He began to push her down against the bench lightly, her wild confused eyes met his.  
"Why would I do that?" Hank gave her a stupid look.  
"Too sleep, you need rest Em'." He called her 'Em', not Emmy or Emilia. It made her feel as if she wasn't her, as if he was talking to an Emily or an Emma. She liked that.  
"Not tired." She resumed her knee hugging position as her hands went back to her hair. She found a knot the size of her fist at the back and began to tug.  
"You'll rip your hair out that way."  
"Good." He sighed at her rudeness.  
"At least let me check your cuts?" She had forgotten about the cuts from the glass. She pulled herself around slowly to face him, not unwrapping herself from her body. Her hands withdrew themselves from her hair for Hank and held onto the ends of her toes instead. He gave a gentle smile and she fought the urge to smile back, remembering that she was supposed to be in mourning.  
"You should change your clothes." He distastefully took in her blood-stained clothes as he pulled on a pair of plastic gloves.  
"Not until all the others come." He peeled the bandages from her forehead and she grimaced in response.  
"Sorry," He muttered as he reached for the disinfectant that he knew would sting feverously. "Why till then?"  
"I want them to see what they've done."  
"Emilia," His eyebrows furrowed down at her. "They didn't do anything."  
"Exactly," She felt the dry blood against her neck crack as she rubbed her hand consciously against it. "I want them to see what Shaw has done to us." She turns away when he finishes, finding comfort in the solace of her own company and what might be the remains of her sister.

-o-

She kept her chin on her knees and her eyes remained shut when she heard the car pull up. Peeking one eye open, she searched for them.  
_Don't look now, the metal man and the telepath are here.  
_"Emilia? Where's Emilia?" Charles' voice rang out as Raven ran up to him engulfing him in her embrace. "Raven, where's Emmy?" Confused and conflicted, Raven pushed herself away from him and watched as his eyes searched the lot for the other woman.  
"Charles?" He found her.  
"Emmy!" She unlatched herself from her position and stumbled off the bench as Charles ran to her. Next thing she knows is that she's being held against him and his arms have wound themselves around her waist.  
"I thought- we all thought you were gone. I thought he'd killed you, Em." He's kissing her face, leaving traces of regret all over her pale structure.  
"You know me," She smiled into his touch. "I'm not gonna go without a goodbye."  
"Idiot." He muttered against her as his lips pressed hard against her head.  
"At least I'm your idiot."  
"Thought you were against people owning others, Jones?"  
"Who said it was you that was owning me?"  
"You've just completely contradicted yourself."  
"Leave me alone, I've just been traumatised."

With a final kiss, she span around to find Erik waiting close by. She met his eyes quickly before he dropped them down to her body. Charles caught his action, before reprimanding him he realised what Erik was staring at. Emilia's white pencil skirt along with her short black cut off shoulder top was torn and ripped in places, one section showed off her thigh, not that Charles was complaining, the rest was stained with dark crimson and he swore there were bruises in the shape of hand prints on her shoulders. It was Erik who spoke and ended the short silence.  
"You look like hell." She doesn't reply, her eyes widen slightly as she takes him in, he's breathless and worried. Then he starts to chuckle and after a few seconds, Emilia joins in with her loud and uncontrollable laugh. Charles was left standing there, not really understanding the joke, watching as the metal man and the dreamer laughed over the physical torment she was put through. Erik soon stopped when he too noticed the bruises and cuts upon her face. "But, you're alright?" She gave a sweet, but, false smile, one that reminded Erik of summer.  
"I'm good."

Charles immediately turned away from the duo, keeping one arm wrapped around Emilia.  
"We've made arrangements for you to be taken home immediately." Emilia stepped away from him and looked up in confusion. Sean was quick to speak his mind  
"We're not going home." His black rounded sunglasses hid his eyes as the others stared at him.  
"What?" Charles was quick to grab hold of Emilia's hand. Sean nudged his shoulder against Alex's.  
"He's not going back to prison." It was Alex's turn to speak up.  
"He killed Darwin."  
"All the more reason for you to leave," Charles retorted. "This is over."  
"Darwin's dead, Charles," Ravens look of disgust was unmatched as Charles refused to meet her eyes. "And we can't even bury him."  
"So is 'Black Suit'," It seemed to be a field day to turn against Charles as Emilia went straight in. "And none of us bothered to learn his name." She eyed Hank as she noticed him shuffle slightly, he had known, just like she did. They would be the only ones who remembered Henry Lloyds name. Alex's head went down to the ground in what Emilia was respect and Moira's face crumbled slightly at the news.  
"We can avenge him."  
_Oh trust me Metal Man, your dreamer has thought of ways to slit Shaw's throat whilst you've been gone.  
_All of their heads snapped up and gawked at Erik as Emilia gave Charles a pointed look.  
_At least someone's leading them.  
_"Erik, a word, please." Charles left her side as he and Erik left the group.

_"They're just kids." _Charles spoke quietly to Erik. Emilia didn't mean to intrude, she just didn't want to be kept in the dark again._  
"No. They were kids." _She noticed that Moira wore a red necklace, the exact shade of Bonnie's hair. Immediately she fingered the envelope. She couldn't take it anymore, _he_ was her first and only reliable resort. She moves past the others, ignoring their glances, heading straight to Erik.  
"Shaw has his army, we need ours." Charles was turning away from Erik's comment when he came face to face with Emilia. Instantly, he notices the goose bumps arising on her arms.  
"You're shivering." He stated as he began to pull his tweed suit jacket off. But, it's not his jacket that warms her up, it's Eriks. He took his leather jacket off at such a speed she didn't realise it was on her until his scent hit her like a ton of bricks. It was heavy and went past her thighs and her fingers only missed the edges of the arms by an inch.  
"Thank you," She felt smothered by the huge thing. "I'm sorry, but, I need your help." They stayed silent until she carried on. "Before Shaw left, he gave me an envelope," at the mention of Shaw both of them exchanged a look as Emilia reverted her gaze to pull the envelope out of her skirt pocket. She took a deep breath as she pushed what felt like life support away to the men in front. "He knows where I live-" No. "-used to live. He's done something with my sister." She watched anxiously as Charles and Erik emptied the contents out, their repulsed faces must resembled hers when she first saw her sister chopped hair. Erik was the one who held the photograph, Charles gave a smile to the photographs younger version of Emilia, her sister and her mother. She looked up at Erik who was still fixated on the photo.  
"I need you," His eyes blankly locked onto hers. "There's writing on the back, it's in German." And with that Erik instantly turned it around.  
"_Gott unter den insekten._" He whispered the words out loud.  
"What does it mean?" Charles asked for her.  
"'God among insects'," He froze slightly before addressing her. "What does that mean to you."  
"He said that I was a god among insects after he tried to make me leave with him," Her eyes sprung up at an instant realisation. "Wait, if he wrote it in German then he must have known that I would have turned to you for help. Erik," He froze again, no longer looking her in the eye because he had already figured it out. "Does what Shaw wrote have any connection to you at all?"  
"Stay out of my head." He gave a pointed look at Charles and then her, telling them both to leave it. That left Emilia and Charles to exchange knowing looks with each other.

Charles turned to the others who all looked expectantly back at him.  
"We'll have to train," She never stopped staring at him. "All of us, yes?"  
"Yeah." They smiled and nodded in agreement towards him.  
"Well, we can't stay here." Hank spoke, he was one of the ones who had gotten changed. "Even if they reopen the department, it's not safe. We've got nowhere to go." Charles hid the smile that had begun to crawl its way onto his face.  
"Yes, we do." That's when she can't contain herself, that's when she lets herself jump on him and that's when she's thanking him and telling him how much she loves him because she knows that Bonnie's going to safe because of him.  
That's also when Erik had to turn away from the telepath and the dreamer.

-o-

It's a known fact that jealousy festers in the place that lies between sanity and madness, sometimes even the place between emotional and mental abuse. It's a normal emotion, just like love or anger, which is why she's so open to it. Her mother had said to her, when she was eighteen, that jealousy was a "deep form of a need to be loved". Her father had told her that it was "the ego that comes from feeling threatened". She believes that it's selfish greed of the idea that someone is going to get love instead of you.  
She recalls once when she was little, one of her childhood friends had a doll for Christmas. It wasn't just any doll, it was one of the top-notch ones you get from the big cities. She remembered it having real human hair, which looking back on disgusted her, big blue glass eyes and rose red lips that looked like the real things. Emilia's dolls had been nothing compared to it. She had wanted it so badly, no, in fact she wanted something better just to spite the other girl. Of course, she had wished and wished for a doll and in the end, on Christmas, she had got it. Another time was when she was sixteen and a boy she liked had been flirting with another girl. Emilia had gone out of her way for him to notice her. She wore more make-up, laughed louder and, dare she say, made her skirts shorter. He noticed her in the end and they had lasted for a year until they began to disagree on many of things. When she got that job at the café before she met Raven, another employee had started getting more pay and less hours, that was something that scorned her. So, she worked extra hard and spent longer hours devoting her time to a boring and ill-fitting food supplier. She got the promotion, along with extra cash.  
The main point out of all those bugs was that in the end she got what she wanted and more. So, jealousy had always been, in a way, a competition. A competition that would soon end with her versing against a certain Raven Darkholme. Emilia, although pretty, was not an idiot and she knew when and when you should not stare at someone. Raven unfortunately choose the time to stare at Charles and Emilia when he had wrapped his arm around her and let his hand wander places, causing Raven to scowl and squirm. Emilia had smiled knowing that she was winning the competition that Raven hadn't even realised begun.

When Charles and Raven told her that the house they grew up in was big, she was expecting a three story house or maybe a bit bigger, the last thing on her mind was the most gigantic mansion that put hundreds of museums to shame.  
_'If you marry him and he then decides to go six feet under, at least you'll be loaded.' _A voice that sounded like her mother was quick to add comments. She shrugged them off as she stared open mouthed up at the building. Charles watched her reaction nervously as her eyes widened.  
"Jesus H. Christ." He gave a chuckle as he led her out of the car.  
"So, what do you think?" He gave her hand an extra squeeze.  
"I could get used to it." She gave a breezy smile and a swift kiss to his cheek before walking to the side, letting the others out to praise the view.  
"This is yours?" Sean voice drifted above them in a dreamy matter as they all stared at the sight before them. Charles turned to Sean, Raven watched Emilia as Charles left her side.  
"No, it's ours."  
"Honestly, Charles," Erik's voice held a dry tone. "I don't know how you survived, living in such hardship." A look was shared between them before Charles turned his head away. Erik's eyes rested on Emilia. Raven took the open opportunity.  
"Well, it was a hardship softened by me." She walked forward and was brought in close against Charles as Emilia stared them down. Charles pressed a kiss into the side of Ravens head. Erik sought Emilia's eyes as she watched sourly onwards. When she caught his eyes, Emilia immediately launched his jacket off and held it forwards.  
"I'm sorry I didn't give it back, I forgot that it was yours." She gave a sheepish smile.  
"You must have been snug."  
"Like a bug." His smile faltered when the he noticed the bruises formed on her shoulders had become darker. He glared down at them, before he could say anything, Raven interrupted.  
"Come on. Time for the tour." She led them to the gigantic mansion with a swift smile from the satisfaction of seeing Emilia's face.

-o-

The room she was given was big and covered with deep reds and golds. A king sized bed took up half the space, a writing desk sat by the side of the room and a dresser with a vanity mirror held her bag. She flung her suitcase on to the floor and began scrambling through it, eventually she found an outfit that wasn't creased. She discarded her blood stained clothes on the floor as she stripped to her underwear. That was when the rap on the door happened and she whirled herself around.  
"Emilia?" Erik opened the door and found her covering herself with just a top.  
"Hello," She gave a nervous smile and clung the material to her chest as Erik didn't look away. "Can I help you?" Realising what he'd been doing, a familiar red came to his cheeks. He gave an awkward cough as he removed his eyes.  
"Charles wants to see you."  
"Since when did you become Charles' messenger?" She smirked in a teasing manner as she walked into the en suite.  
"I'm not his messenger."  
"Then why'd you come?" She pulled the shirt down over her head and bent over to retrieve a skirt.  
"Our rooms are next to each other, might as well greet the neighbour." _Oh the joy._  
"By greet do you mean walk in on her when she's not wearing anything?"  
"Now that's a lie, I saw a bra strap." She rolled her eyes at him as she dragged the skirt up her legs. "I also wanted to see if you were alright." He let his fingers trail against the frame.  
"Why wouldn't I be?"  
"Those bruises on your shoulders, they look they hurt." She decides not to lie with Erik.  
"They do."  
"Who did it?" His blue eyes glared down as he scratched against the wall paint.  
"One of the CIA's, thought that if he offered me to Azazel he would stop killing them. Didn't work." She waltzed back into the room and went to the vanity mirror.  
"They shouldn't have done that." He fixated his eyes on her as she leaned forward to apply her make -up.  
"Why do you care?"  
"I don't," A lie. "It's not all about you Emilia."  
"I have a suspicion that deep down, in that cold heart of yours, you actually care about my wellbeing." She finished staining her lips red and he suddenly payed more attention to them.  
"You're wrong there." Another lie.  
"Well, you were the one to offer me your jacket and ask if I was alright."  
"I thought that I told you and Charles to stay out of my head." He crossed his arms over his chest and become suddenly self-conscious of her abilities.  
"Oh Erik," She gave a sly smile as she drifted past him out of the room. "You don't need to be a telepath to see that you care as much as I do."  
"You said no to Shaw," She paused before she went down the hall, knowing that their conversation hadn't finished."Why?"  
"Although you can be a complete shit most of the time, I respect you."  
"Why?"  
"You took me in, you looked after me and I know, even though you disagree, that you cared for me once." His eyes searched hers for some kind of meaning as she went on. "I know what he did to you and your family, I'm not an idiot Erik, I know he'd use mine against me like he's doing with Bonnie now." The sore patch of his families death still stung at the mention and hurt even more when it left her mouth. "Also," She gave the smallest smile he had ever seen from her, somehow reminding him of a place he hadn't been in a while. "I would never join the man who slaughtered your family out of respect for you and them."

And for the first time, as he watched her leave, he realised that he missed Emmy's little quirks, especially the ones that made him feel better.

-o-

"She can't have worn it." Emilia held the red dress between her fingers, her eyes looked at it with disgust.  
"I have pictures." Charles objected as he only half paid attention. "You never mentioned you had a problem with my mother's clothing choices.  
"You never mentioned your mother was a stick insect."  
"It was in her younger days. Now, are you going to try it on?" He had called her to his room, insisting for her to wear the dress. She had loved it from the moment she laid her eyes on it, the only problem was that Emilia was not skinny enough to pull it off.  
"Are you joking?" She gave him an appalled look. "Not only would my boobs suffocate, so would I!" She flung it carefully back onto the bed. "Anyway, it would show all my 'wobbly' bits."  
"Wobbly bits?" A raised an eyebrow was sent her way.  
"You know, boobs and bum."  
"Well, you ought to know that I like your wobbly bits."  
"Is that so?"  
"Hmm, very much in fact."  
"I don't know what's worse, you wanting me to wear your mother's clothes or you wanting me to go to a doctor." Another subject of their conversation had been the defining feature of Emilia's health which had been brought up to him by Raven. Emilia felt her fingernails dig into her hand as she glared at him.  
"Emmy, we've been through this. You could be seriously ill."  
"But, I'm not, I know I'm not."  
"Love, Raven's just worried about you, we're all worried about you." _Bullshit._  
"Well, Raven's just being a grass." Charles instantly defended his adopted sister.  
"She's doing the right thing." She didn't reply for a while, she stared down at the dress between her fingertips.  
"Fine," She raised her eyes to meet his. "But if it turns out that I'm perfectly fine then-"  
"Then you get to live with the satisfaction of being perfectly healthy."

-o-

The dress stopped at her ankles and it grabbed at her sides. It came down low on the chest but was made up by the shorts straps it was hanging onto. Her smile seemed to lighten everyone's spirits, or, at least it lightened _hers_. Raven noticed all of this just by the moment Emilia walked into the room. It was just her and Hank watching T.V when Emilia had came in asking for Charles. He had led her out of the room and she had sent a quick wink with a wicked smirk to Raven. And Raven couldn't stop staring.  
From a young age she had always copied people, the first step was their looks. After she had met Charles, she had tried to be like the other children in their school so she wouldn't be found out. What they liked, she liked. What they hated, she hated. What music they liked, she would like even though years later she'd realise that she hated it. She would do anything to be normal. She wasn't her own person from the ages of eight to sixteen. In fact, she still wasn't Raven, she still couldn't be herself. As a child, she overrode any natural hobbies or things she liked that were _different _to what everyone else liked. She had never been able to stop thinking about it, no matter how much she had tried to supress it.  
It started with Jane when she was thirteen. She knew from the start that she really, really liked Jane. All Raven wanted to do was be as close possible with her at all times. But, all of their friends who were girls were interested in chasing after boys and getting their hearts broken, so that's what Raven did. Years passed and nothing happened with Jane and soon the feelings were smothered out, then life went on.  
The next time it was that girl with auburn hair in the restaurant on Ravens birthday. Raven couldn't help but stare and notice how beautiful she looked. The chill that went through her and the feeling of her heart skipping a beat every time the girl glanced at her made even Charles raise an eyebrow.  
Hank made his way back into the room and she smiled up at him. Pushing herself up, she made her way over to him.  
"I'm tired, I think I'll hit the sack." She reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before she left him. She grinned to herself as she noticed Hank blushing, she stilled as she left the room when she saw the last wisps of a red dress turning the corner. Raven stared at her the same way she had once stared at the other girls she had known and seen.  
And she knew, deep down, that she shouldn't be looking at another girl the same way she would look at a boy. Most of all, she shouldn't be looking at her brothers girl the same way that he or Erik did.

-o-

Five drinks later and she can't remember what happened before now, all she knows is that she's in a library, that she's living in the moment and she's feeling higher than the empire state building, yet, Charles was sober.  
"You're a bad influence." He reprimand her disorderly ways with a smile on his face and a sip of whatever he usually drunk. She took the rebuke with a smile on her face.  
"You love it though." He raises an eyebrow as she continues to giggle, Emilia knew easily that it was the truth from his bemused expression. Her legs lay on top of his and he keeps his hand on top, holding on sweetly. He presses sweet and neat kisses to her forehead and other various body parts whilst she just rests her head on his shoulder. "Question," She announced, her drink sloshing over the glass by an inch. "When did you realise you were 'different'." He gave a short smile.  
"Twelve, haven't I told you this before?"  
"Yeah, but it's funnier when I'm pissed."  
"You really can't hold your drink you know that don't you?" Another kiss to the side of her face.  
"Yeah…"  
"Then why do it?"  
"Practise makes perfect my sweet pea."  
"That's worse than the time my mother used to call me her 'little prince'." That's when Emilia cried. It wasn't instant, it started with a small giggle, then her body began to shake against his and then it became uncontrollable.  
"Question," After regaining her speech and body, she carried on the peculiar game. "What's the worst nickname you've ever had?"  
"I don't know, being called 'prince' was pretty bad. You?" Instantly, her 'secret agent code-name' came to mind.  
"Pandora isn't all that grand, I'm not hope." She felt a pang of guilt for going against Hank in a way. "Anyway, I was once called 'Pudding' for a while." The memory made her shiver with disgust.  
"Oh, and who is the unfortunate person?"  
"An ex-boyfriend." She stared up at him and smiled wider as he scrunched his nose.  
"I see how the 'ex' comes into play."  
"Changing the subject," She grinned as her mind begged her to ask the question. "Question, first kiss?"  
"Does my mother count?" She rolled her eyes at his comment.  
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid not, Xavier." His fingers traced down her arm. _Please don't say Raven, please don't say Raven.  
_"Shame. I think I was eight and I believe it was a girl named 'Mary-Elizabeth'."  
"What a beautiful name." She hid her suppressed happiness at the knowledge of the non-existent relationship between Raven and him.  
"I remember her wearing plaits every day to school with red ribbons in both ends. She moved away a week later, I was heartbroken."  
"Ah," She finished the last of her drink and reached across him to put it against the wooden oak table. "The saddest love stories are the ones that are never told." He rolled his eyes at her stretched body.  
"Alright Emmy, go on, tell me all about your first kiss." That's when she froze and her face turned to stone. _'Only say your age.' _The voice tried to calm the eruptions of fear in her chest.  
"I was eleven." He twisted a strand of one of the white streaks of her hair around his finger.  
"…And?"  
_'Don't you dare breathe a word.' _The voice threatened her as it passed through her mental barriers into her drunken mind. '_You haven't spoken about it in ten years, don't you bring it up now.'  
_"He was older."  
"By how much?"  
_Don't you dare, Emmy, don't you fucking dare.  
_"By forty years," She felt him grow rigid against her body. "He was also my dad's boss."  
"Emilia, I-" She cut him off.  
"Don't, he didn't do anything more. My dad came in when he caught _his_ hand going up my top."  
"What did your father do?" He seemed almost hesitant to ask.  
"Oh, he gave him two black eyes and a broken nose before my mam heard him calling for help." She gave a shaky laugh. "I remember her screaming for my dad to stop, that he was nearly killing him, he carried on anyway."  
"What about you? What happened to you after that?" She found herself moving closer to him and digging herself into his side.  
"I blamed myself for years, that it was my fault dad got fired, my fault my mam gave looks to every man that came near me and my fault that_ he_ walked down the street with a limp." Then he's holding her tight against him, giving sloppy kisses all over her face as he apologises for making her bring it up. She finds when she's kissing him forcefully on the mouth, that he's the comfort she needs.  
"Question," It's an hour later and they're covered by only a thin blanket. "What do you think of me?" He pushes her close against his bare chest as he grins to himself.  
"I think you're bloody perfect." It's not the truth, although, it does make her smile.

-o-

They're woken the next day by Hank. He sprints in and instantly yanks himself around the split second he sees them.  
"Hank?" Charles groggy voice broke the once and sweet silence of the room. "What's wrong?"  
"I'm sorry to disturb you Professor, but it's Shaw," Both Emilia and Charles sprang up, Bonnie coming to mind. "He's tried to make contact with us." Then Hank left them to get dressed and they both dashed across the room pulling different items of clothing on. Then they ran hand in hand down to the living area. As the doors barged open, she instantly noticed the hunk of a machine on the old mahogany table built up from wires and flashing lights. A single black telephone was connected up to it.  
"Hank, what's this?" Charles leaves her side to rush to Hank who was connecting a red wire to a blue.  
"It's a communication device, it's going to connect us to Shaw. We'll all hear what he has to say through those speakers by Erik." Hank then pointed over to a little machine that sat next to Moira. "That, if it works, will write down the location of Shaw just like it did with Cerebro in the base." Emilia walked over to Moira and was welcomed with a double tap on the sofa, telling her to sit. She smiled at the agent as she sat down slowly.  
"What did I miss?" Moira leaned forward as she focused on the small machine.  
"Shaw rang up an hour ago, we don't know how he got the number, said he wanted to talk terms."  
"What terms?"  
"I don't know. Said he'll ring back in an hour, he wants to speak to the 'leader'." She snuck a glance at Charles.  
"Why weren't we found sooner?"  
"No one could find you both, looks like Hank did the job though." A kind natured smirk came on Moira's face. "Although he was a bit red-faced walking back in. Was it something he saw?" She nudged Moira with her knee, silently telling her to shut up. Moira grinned up at her, then looked up at the clock. "I'd say we've got five minutes until he rings again." She spent those five minutes being impressed by Hanks incredible knowledge and being a bag of nerves. When those five minutes ticked by, the phone rang right on cue.  
"At least he's reliable." Moira muttered to her as she got herself into position. Charles took the phone handle.  
"Hello?" The response was crackles and a mixture of unintelligible voices. Hanks hands flew at a dangerous speed across the machine as the miscommunication became louder. She felt Alex seat himself down next to her.  
"This is going well."  
"You're telling me." The lights began to flash wildly as a look of panic passed Hanks face. Soon, the static left the room and the lights went to normal. That was when they got a response.  
"I'm guessing you're the telepath."  
"Yes," Charles replied. "That's me."  
"No offense, but, I'd prefer to speak to your Emilia, she's better company." The static returns and they're staring at her. She gets up instantly and goes to Charles' side.  
"No."  
"I haven't said anything yet."  
"I know what you're going to ask and it's a no." She takes the phone off him anyway and walks away a couple of steps.  
"Shaw, its Emilia." The phone crackled in response, Hank began to work his magic through the machine.  
"We're losing him." She brought the phone back up to her ear.  
"Hello? Shaw, it's me, Emilia Jones." Nothing. It went on for minutes, her calling for him whilst Hank and everyone else in the room lost hope. She began to put down the phone, giving up completely, then, a voice resounded across the room.  
"Emilia Jones, we meet again." She brought it back up to her ear and Charles kept his distance as he listened.  
"What is it you want, Shaw?"  
"I believe the question should be, what is it that _you_ want, little bird?" She didn't reply. "Oh," He spoke again. "Have I hit a soft spot?"  
"I wouldn't say it's that soft." He gave a corse chuckle.  
"Did you enjoy my little gift?" Bonnie's snipped off hair in the envelope still rested in her bag. She held the picture in her pocket.  
"I would have preferred flowers."  
"Times are hard Em' and you've got to make a choice." She scrunched her nose up in confusion.  
"What choice?"  
"Between us and them." Her fingernail brought its way to her mouth as she bit anxiously. "I know what you are Em', you're scared and alone."  
"I'm not alone." She defended herself as her eyes rested on Charles.  
"For now. Give or take a few years and you'll find that you can't control it, they'll all leave you."  
"Control what?" She removes her eyes from Charles as a sinking feeling brings its way up.  
"Yourself." The red lights in front of her flicker, grabbing her attention. "Sweetheart, I know what it's like to feel alone in a crowded room," She can't look anyone in the eye, too ashamed to admit that it was the truth. "You're different from the rest, you and I know it, and you don't belong there." She kept her mouth shut, not wanting to encourage him. "They say you're a psychic, now that's a treat. How does it feel when you see your loved ones die? No, I got a better question. How did it feel when you saw your own death?"  
"If you're trying to torment me, it's not working." Her voice came out strong and confident which made her smile slightly as it betrayed the fear that was clawing at her throat.  
"I met a psychic the other day, I asked him about you. I brought a pretty picture of you with me as well."  
"Where from?"  
"Your sister has a few of you in her room, considering the circumstances, I think it's quite sweet," Her breath caught in her throat, the idea of Shaw dying became more appealing by the minute. "Anyway, I asked about you and do you want to know what he said?"  
"Shoot."  
"He said you were a god." Jesus Christ, Sebastian Shaw was insane enough to believe that.  
"I'm not that special."  
"There are plenty of telepaths, metal benders and teleporters across the world, but never have I ever seen something as exquisite as you." She felt like throwing up. "You want to know why? Because you have a higher chance of killing me then all the others." Someone in the room gasped as her eyes moved around the room, trying to focus on anything.  
"I'm not a killer."  
"Well, say that to Azazel, he's been a bit off ever since your assault on him." She heard someone say an 'oh my god'. That's when she starts to panic.  
"I didn't know what I was doing, it was self-defence."  
"You should ditch that name, 'Pandora'. It doesn't suit you, you're too deadly to be called that." How did he know about that?  
"Then what should I be named?"  
"I think we should call you what that kind, but now dead, psychic told me," He killed the psychic, why? Was it because of her? "You, Emilia Jones, should be named 'The Supreme'." That was worse than 'Pandora'. "Because that is what you are, the supreme mutant, a god among insects."  
"Leave me alone."  
"Fine, but if you don't join our side soon, I'll send you more of your sister than just a few hairs. Would a finger or her head suffice?"  
"What do you want, Shaw?"  
"I want you and all of your friends to know that you're all either with us or against us, and if it's the latter, then you best stay out of our way." And with that he hung up, leaving her to be stared at.  
"Did it work?" Hank looked at Moira with an expectant look. Moira gave a shake of her head and pulled at the blank piece of paper.  
'Supreme,' Emilia mused as she kept her distance from the rest. 'I could be the supreme.'

_'You could be the supreme mutant.'  
_No, _I am_ going to be the supreme mutant.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I've been going through some stuff this past month and I've had the idea for this chapter but have found it so hard to find time or even just to pen down. So Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I think that this story is nearly half a year old (I think, i don't really know myself tbh). Thank you for all your kind reviews, I had to stare at them for a while just to not ****procrastinate any longer. Okay, so I'm sorry if this chapter is shite, it's probably because I haven't been able to go through and edit it properly.****  
**

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_BloodMoonWanes, waywardlottie, Lorna Roxen, Sgaapje, MrsChaolWestfall, back2vintage, DevilsTrap12, LiliAnn Jackson, wildFoxy, Queenylime21, 1, fabercastel, FireRebel, Lizeyli, shatteredstar21 , DeathIsNotCool, Saskia Valerie, ceciliaza, **Always and a day Love**, puternic, **lash3z13,** .hae, **ToshimiOkami**, katniss12, Team-lets-free-will, **Lavinia Black**, cutepennamehere, **Dearest Heart** and** Lucky Girl 81.**_

_**Reviews:**_

**IKhandoZatman** \- Thank you, I'm so glad that you liked it!  
**FireRebe**l - I'm glad you've noticed her changing, Emilia's becoming more independent and is relying on herself more than others. :)  
**Lizeyli** \- Wow! Thank you! No one has complimented my trailers on here before! Haha, I'm so glad that you liked it. Well Azazel speaks Russian so there might come a point where she finds herself being able to understand certain words or phrases he uses. That's a really good prediction and I was so tempted to change the ending of the chapter for it to end that way, but, there is one flaw. Emilia hasn't seen or been in Shaw's base so she would have no clue where to go. But she will be using the ability in the next chapter and will use it against Shaw in future chapters. I hope you enjoyed this one!  
**EpikalStorms** \- Hah thank you! I'll try to keep it up ;)  
**LaughingLadybug** \- This chapter is tons shorter than the last one so I hope you prefered this one! :) Wow thank you, I did spend ages trying to get everything right in the last one that I fear that this one is nothing compared to it. My favourite part is picking the title, I loved the title and the quote that went along with it last time.  
**puternic** \- Nope not bad at all! Ahh the feels for Erik are too much. :)  
**lash3z13** \- Your wish is my command and asdfghjkl thank you! Oh the feels for love triangles hit so hard.

**BIG THANK YOU TO fabercastel, A Wish On the Moon AND FireRebel FOR THEIR CONTINUED REVIEWS/MESSAGES! I'M VERY THANKFUL!**


	10. Violet Eyed Sinner

Violet Eyed Sinner

_**"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."**_

_Desmond Tutu, South African social rights activist_

* * *

Eight letters, one word and three forms of vowels. Eight letters, one word and three forms of vowels came from the doctor's mouth in front of her. His thin cracked lips opened without a hint of hesitation.  
"Positive." The rest was a blur, but she caught another set of eight letters, one word and two forms of vowels. "Pregnant." Another, except in the form of a question. "Abortion?"  
Her hand slipped and stopped supporting her head whilst her mouth dropped. He explained everything while she just sat there unmoving, too afraid to move under the sudden realisation that she was carrying a baby inside of her.

_'Don't call it a baby,'_ a voice muttered in her head. _'It's a foetus, that's all it'll ever be to you.'_  
Unlike the other mothers who she'd overheard in conversation earlier, she was not congratulated by the patriarchal male doctors. Their words made a sour spoil in her mouth. They hadn't said _"Congratulations Miss Jones, you're going to be a young, unmarried and unemployed mother"_ or _"Where's the father? Or should the question be, **is** there a father?'_, but she knew they had thought it.

"We get a lot of young girls like you Miss Jones," His wrinkled face hid the 'sympathy' that _dripped_ from his words. "Very, very young girls who are in… trouble." She kept her eyes locked on the hundredth mother and baby poster she saw that day. "There's some help we can offer you, there is a price of course, but, I believe it is manageable."  
Abortion. He meant an abortion. An illegal and foul backstreet abortion. What was it that she read in a news article? From 1950 to 1959, a million women had illegal abortions and roughly a thousand women died each year from it. It was 1962, no matter how clothing or hair trends might change, women still bled pieces of unborn limbs and scrambles of the baby that could have been. It couldn't be that hard, could it? All she'd have to do would be to lay on her back, legs apart whilst she'd feel a slight pain. It wasn't anything she hadn't done before. Anyway, the pain was nothing a shot of whiskey couldn't subdue and then _ta dah!_ She'd be foetus free. Of course with the 'small' increased chance of a haemorrhage or infection occurring, ultimately ending in death. The question was not would she do it, it was could she? Could she allow herself to become a statistic on a local newspaper that wasn't even printed in colour? Could she live with the guilt of knowing that a budding life was slaughtered in her own womb? Wasn't a womb meant to protect?

Finally, after her decision had been finalised, she felt herself being led into a small back room. A white medical dress that would not pass her bum was thrown at her as the blinds were pulled down and the door locked.  
"Miss Jones, do you have the money on hand?" A nod was sent to a blonde woman who assisted 'troubled' girls before their treatment. Emilia felt her hands shake as she dug the green notes out of her purse. Her hard earned money was snatched from the tips of her fingers as a glass was pushed into her hands. "Drink up, it'll distract you from the pain." She gagged as the foul drink swam down her throat. Her head began to float suddenly as she was dragged down on the bed. She heard the clang of metal and pushed herself up again. Different medical equipment were being laid on a tray next to her. Knives, syringes and one single coat hanger. The woman who had a bad case of crow's feet by her eyes noticed Emilia's alarm. "Don't worry, we only use the hanger as a last resort if the others don't hit the spot." She fell back onto the pillow and shut her eyes as she heard more and more equipment being unloaded onto the tray.

Soon, metal scraped along the side of her inner thigh. A gasp left her mouth. Her heart rate picked up as the woman's hand came closer. What had Ms. Adela said to her again?  
_"Cancer causes your father to die and your son never lives."_  
The foetus inside of her would never ever take its first breath. The poor, vulnerable foetus that would never ever see the huge world surrounding it. It would never know or meet Charles. She grimaced. Now that hurt.  
_"The only comfort you'll receive is the metal man impaling his sweet blade into your pale stomach."_  
A gasp of realisation escaped as the woman's nails dug down hard into the mutants thigh. Adela hadn't predicted the child's death. Adela had predicted Emilia's death.  
_'Idiot, the child would never have been harmed,' _a voice broke through her walls. _'It had always been your death.'_  
The image of her broken body lying on the ground drowning in her own warm blood made her chest pump harder. Soon, Darwin came to mind alongside 'Black Suit' and all the other CIA officers. Bonnie's savaged hair and Shaw's threats clogged up her throat as she struggled to breath. Her father in the not so distant hospital bed, bald, weak and reeking of death. Death is all she begins to see. Darwin in the rubble, Black Suit's caved in skull, CIA's corpses, the mystery of Bonnie, Shaw killing Bonnie and her father succumbing to cancer. The list repeated itself:  
_Darwin, Henry, strangers, baby sister, enemy and dad._  
_Dead, dead and dead again, unknown, murderer and sentenced to death_.  
A sharp scream leaves her lips and the metal scalpel that was about to enter was thrown across the room. The woman shrieked at the sound and at Emilia's outburst.  
_"No!"_ Emilia hissed, seething as she glared at the scalpel she had just ledged in-between the poster. _"No more death."_

She left with her money and what remained of her dignity. A smirk resided on her face as she spotted the poster. Her aim left the scalpel right in the dead centre of the heavily pregnant woman's stomach, striking the direct spot where the baby would be at its weakest.  
_"The only comfort you'll receive is the metal man impaling his sweet blade into your pale stomach."_  
The throw was a coincidence. A sick and twisted one. She glared down at her own stomach and the life inside.  
"You're lucky," She whispered down to her slightly swollen frame. "That bitch was one coat hanger away from popping you out." With that she turned, leaving the chance to have a free life behind.

-o-

The moment her foot entered the mansion she knew something was off. Not just by the scent of wet dog or the atrociously bright pink coat that hung on the hanger. Emilia edged forward slowly, letting her feet direct her to one of the many living rooms. There in her seat, wearing her clothes, sat a raven haired woman who was also reading Emilia's book.

Maybe it was down to the fact that just an hour ago she had come seconds away from letting someone murder her child, or that the book the stranger was holding was the one her father had given her and the only thing she had from him. She was not pleased at the sight in front of her.  
"Excuse me?" The woman's head whipped around and looked up. She flashed a grin at her. Emilia noticed that her front tooth was chipped. She was pretty, although not in a way that would make you stop and say 'wow'. But, she did have one of those contagious smiles.  
"Something wrong Darlin'?" Her southern drawl crept up Emilia's spine and her eyebrows turned down.  
"Well, yes," her arms wrapped themselves around her front. "You're wearing my clothes and you're reading my book... and... and," She looked for something else to say but was met with a delicately arched eyebrow.  
"And?"  
"And... I don't even know who you are or why you're even in this house." The strangers hazel eyes returned to the book, uninterested in Emilia.  
"I could say the same to you." She bent the spine of the book and Emilia cringed at the lines beginning to form on her beloved Tolkien novel. "Y'know, y'all brits can be real rude sometimes." Emilia's mouth fell open.  
"Rude? I haven't done anything."  
"Y'all giving me evils hun', I can sense the vibes."  
"Vibes? What-" Moira disrupted her sentence as she came in with the most strangest and oddest thing Emilia had ever seen her hold. Moira MacTaggert held a small toddler, barely past the age of two in her arms. That wasn't where it ended, oh no. The hair above its head was a shamrock green and its eyes were a bright shade of violet.

At first, the probability of Sean and Alex somehow finding the mutant baby and deciding to take it home didn't surprise her. Then, the old spiteful side of her instantly assumed that the toddler was either Charles or Erik's from a past relationship . However, she kept her cool and let herself stare at the mesmerizing child.  
She hoped to god for her mother's sake that her child would not turn out with multi-coloured body parts.  
Moira handed the child to the woman sat in Emilia's seat.  
"I am so sorry," Moira gave a sheepish smile down at her. "Charles and I just couldn't get enough of her. He's absolutely fascinated." Emilia felt a swirl of emotions travel through her and immediately narrowed her eyes down at the trio. Why would Charles be 'fascinated' by another woman's child?  
"S'alright," She took the child off Moira and held it close to her. "Maisie likes attention. She's a little flirt, aren't ya 'Maise?" The toddler gurgled in reply followed with a high pitched giggle. Emilia scowled at the dribble that the girl left on the mothers clothes. Emilia's clothes. That purple top had been newly washed.  
"Moira, where's Charles?" Her eyes did not leave the slim fingers of the woman before her as she flicked to the beginning of Emilia's book.  
"In the kitchen, I'll join you with the others." Moira slid a couple of hairs from the strange toddlers face and turned to the mother. "Would you like anything?" The stranger gave a polite smile to the CIA agent and shook her head. "Alright," Moira said straightening up. "Just remember, don't be afraid to ask for anything. Our home is your home now." Emilia glowered down at the woman. This was not her home. Moira took Emilia's hand and lead her away. The woman's voice trailed after them as she begun to read to her eccentric child.

_"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."_

Moira flanked Emilia. "Have you met the other one?"  
"There's another?" She asked as the auburn haired woman nodded.  
"Well two, if you count the dog."  
"Oh lucky me." Emilia spoke dryly.  
"It's a labrador. Raven's taken a liking to it."  
"Good for her. Did Charles tell them I'm allergic to dogs?" Moira's eyes widened.  
"Well, no. Anyway, you're not allergic to dogs."  
"Well I am now." Emilia noticed through the window the golden lab charging across the fields with Raven running after it. Moira rolled her eyes before smirking to herself.  
"Oh, by the way," She stopped them in their tracks just before they entered the kitchen. "Don't be surprised when you see _him_. And if you suddenly feel the urge to elope with him the minute you meet, remember he's married." Emilia gave a confused smile to her. The lovesick look on Moira's face brought her mood up by miles.  
"I'm assuming he's handsome then?"  
"Trust me, he's more than that."

Moira was right. The mysterious man sitting alongside the others instantly caught her attention. They all sat around the rectangular table, Charles, Erik, Hank, Alex Sean and the other stranger. Raven burst in through the back door with red cheeks and her blonde hair in tangles. Emilia and Moira entered to find all eyes on them but they both only had eyes for _him_.  
"So you're the girl everyone's talking about." His eyes were exact violet replicas of the small girl in the next room. He didn't have the trademark green hair like her but had curly blond locks that probably made Alex Summers eat his heart out.  
"I didn't realise I was that popular."  
"Of course you are," he took a crunch out of a green apple. "You're the girl Sebastian Shaw's after. Everyone who fears the man has put a price on your head." She moved to grab a teacup and poured the ready made tea into the antique glass.  
"All of our heads, I'm not the only one in this." His sight stayed on her as she turned to the group. She shivered slightly at the warmth spreading through the cup to her hands.  
"We need to strike now," Erik advanced onto Charles. "Before he can take the upper hand and burn this house to the ground."  
"We're safe here for now Erik," Charles argued back. "There's no need to fight now."  
"For now." The argument went on while Emilia soon became preoccupied with the stranger.  
_'You know, I don't even know your name.' _She spoke silently in his mind.  
_'Julian, Julian Williams.'__  
'You're not from around here.' _  
_'Neither are you I believe.'  
__'Why're you here?'  
__'Same as you. Everyone wants somewhere to belong.'  
__'And?'  
__'And what?'  
__'Why else are you here? You couldn't have found us just by yourself.'  
'Actually, I did.' _She raised an eyebrow.  
_'How so?'_  
_'My mutation allows me to track down whoever or whatever I want.'_  
_'That must be helpful when you lose your keys'_ A grin came on his face.  
"Emilia?" A voice broke their stream of thoughts.  
"Yes?" She asked, her eyes searching around the room for the source. She met Charles' eyes and felt her stomach flip.  
"I asked for your opinion." Before she could search someones mind for the loop of conversation she missed out, Julian beat her to it.  
"I'm sorry Charles, but your wife and I were having a completely different conversation." Emilia didn't have the heart to tell him that Charles and her were not married. Neither did Charles, or anyone else for that matter.  
"Why don't you share your intriguing conversation with us all then?" Erik tried to catch her gaze but she stared ahead at the newcomer. She spoke for them both this time.  
"We were about to discuss how his mutation made us vulnerable." Julian scoffed.  
"You make it sound like I'm a villain."  
"How does your mutation work?" Hank asked. Julian leaned back into his chair, the apple still in between his thumb and forefinger.  
"Easy, it tracks down what I want."  
"I'm afraid you're going to have to be a bit more specific my friend." Charles came forward, his eyebrows furrowed down as he watched Julian closely.  
"If I want something my mutation tracks it and then leads me to it."  
"You could be one bad ass assassin with that." Julian smirked at Seans meaningless comment. However, she wasn't fooled by his charm.  
"It's because he is." They all turned to Emilia then back at Julian.  
"Is it true?" Raven asked. Julian gave a wink.  
"Well, I wouldn't say that I'm particularly bad ass."  
"What're you doing here?"  
"I got found by Shaw, wanted me to track down a telepath. Turns out that telepath was you." Julian winked at Charles before crunching down into the apple again. Erik narrowed his eyes down.  
"You sold us out to Shaw."  
"You let those men die." Emilia joined in.  
"Look, I didn't know what he wanted." He rolled his eyes at the accusations. "Anyway, I didn't know you then so I didn't 'sell you out' and that was before the CIA incident." It was too late, Erik had already moved his hand. A metal bar behind Julian came swinging, winding itself around his pale throat and the apple fell from his hand.  
"What else?" Erik growled. Julian struggled to not gag while he spoke.  
"He came back to me, hours after he found you guys, tells me if I can earn myself some more dollars if I find a girl." Erik clenched his hand and the metal became tighter, making the whites of Julians eyes pop out.  
"Erik stop." Charles pleaded.  
"What girl?"  
"Some ginger named 'Bonnie Jones.'" Emilia felt her heart drop.  
"That's my-"  
"I know," Julian interrupted her through pained gasps. Emilia clicked her fingers and the metal crashed to the floor. Erik turned and sent a glare. She shrugged her shoulders in return. Julian began to go on. "So I find her, Shaw doesn't get in contact with me for a couple of days. I guessed that was the end of our contract. He knocks on my door one day. Tells me that I need to find another girl and if I didn't... well I don't think my family would want to know. So I travel for a couple days, normally takes me a few minutes to at least find someones address," He found Emilia's eyes again and pointed. "But you, you don't want to be found do ya? You're the longest time I've ever spent on someone. At this point I'm panicking. Shaw's gonna kill my girls if I don't this mutant that doesn't appear to exist. Then the most clich**é** thing happened. I started looking for hope y'know, thinking it'll give me some plane ticket for my family or something. Instead, I find this small girl dancing along to a shitty Elvis song and it's you. And I think, hey, maybe there's a reason I couldn't find her, maybe that's someone who can save us." She gulped down the rest of the tea in her mouth along with the sentiment he was trying to give her.  
"If you're looking for someone who can save you, then you've come to the wrong place."  
"We just want hope, Emilia."  
"Hope against what? Against Shaw?"  
"If Shaw gains power-"  
"Which he won't." Erik interrupted, glaring at the blond.  
"_If_ he does. Who says he won't pick the rest of us off? Maybe he'll wake up one day and say _'Hey, maybe natural selection isn't that bad of an idea'._ Who's to say that he won't kill the weakest of us off and only save the ones who he thinks are strong." They went into silence. Emilia noticed the leaky taps dripping begun to get louder. The dog outside scratched against the door, searching for a way in. Charles sighed.  
"We can offer you a place to stay my friend, but we cannot guarantee your safety." Julian gave a curt nod.  
"Thank you."  
Emilia gave a smile to Charles that didn't meet her eyes and turned to put the empty teacup in the sink. Instead of finding dirty cups, drained dishes and a ratty tea towel, she found a pair of hazel eyes. The same hazel eyes that been reading her book and wearing her clothes. She let out a shriek and dropped the cup, letting it explode into millions of pieces as it crashed against the tiled floor. The woman opposite did not flinch at the noise but the child she held let out a small cry.  
"Excuse my wife," Said their new male resident. "She's a teleporter."  
"I thought you said she was an empath?" Asked Hank.  
"That as well."  
Emilia groaned as she bent down to pick the shards of china up. The woman came down with her.  
"You feel sad." Emilia met the woman's eyes again. _'I just smashed a part of my maybe future, sadly deceased, mother in-laws ancient china set, of course I'm sad'  
_"Pardon?"  
"You feel alone and sad. Why are you sad?"  
"Adrienne, leave Emilia alone." His wife ignored him like Emilia had begun to ignore her.  
"Or are you gonna' be sad soon?" Emilia began to pick up shards faster. In her distraction she failed to stop a piece of china from slicing her palm. She gasped and clutched at crimson beginning to drip down her hand. Someone kneeled down next to her and begun to help her clear up the mess. She glanced to find Charles putting the rest of the china on the counter before taking her hand into his.  
"Hank, would you mind getting the first aid kit for 'Em please?" She pulled herself up and stared down at Charles' hand holding hers to distract herself from the stares around them. Adriennes gaze never faltered. She was taller than Emilia by at least five inches. The toddler squirmed in its mothers arms at the lack of attention given to her.  
"Adie, give me Maisie." Her husband took the toddler from her and began cooing to the little dimpled girl. Adrienne took a step towards her and Erik left his seat. Before anything could happen, Adrienne finally spoke to Julian.  
"There ain't no real hope here, only false hope."  
"If you don't like what we've got to offer," Emilia glared at the raven haired woman. "Then you can just go ahead and leave." The woman stilled. Immediately her hand reached out for Emilia and latched onto the necklace she wore.  
"I sense a darkness in you," Her fingers ghosted over the gift from Erik. She swiftly turned to Charles and the others. "Y'all can't feel it yet but I can." She left the room and took the green haired babe with her. Silence filled the room, the awkward kind that made everyone uncomfortable. Adrienne's thoughts however came loud and clear to the two telepaths.  
_'Mrs Xavier, if ya'll run from your downfall, it's going to find ya'll in the most unfortunate way.'  
_Adrienne's voice continued to float through to the range of mutants as began reading Emilia's book again.

_"What is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us. They are, or were, a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves. Hobbits have no beards. There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off."_

Emilia turned away from Charles' worried glance as he bound her hand with bandages. Instead, she searched across the room and found a familiar face. To her surprise, she found Erik Lensherr staring right back at her.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's so short but I hope you enjoyed. Please tell me what you think about this chapter! Do you think Emilia made the right choice? What do you think about the new family?**


	11. Words as Weapons

** WORDS AS WEAPONS**

_"Would you stay if she promised you heaven?_

_Will you ever win?"_

_ \- Rhiannon, Fleetwood Mac._

**_-o-_**

Boys are stupid and she doesn't mean it in a cruel way.

It's more of a one off day for Sean but somehow still led to her locking all the doors that surrounded her in her own Garden of Eden. The library.  
It seemed as though the Xavier family had everything one could think of in the enormous mansion. That went from the finely furnished library she sat in all the way down to the ancient bunker that resided a couple feet underneath them.  
Actually, they didn't have a swimming pool. They had a small pond but that wouldn't be appropriate to take a dip in. She wasn't complaining, not at all, she loved the mansion with all the centuries of history it carried.  
One thing she loved most of all? The metal locks that stopped the idiot outside from getting in. Sean hadn't meant it on purpose but the minute he had made a joke about her weight she had folded into herself and the self-image she carried of herself shattered.  
As did the glass Sean had been holding.  
It was a trick with a coin that had been on the counter. She had twisted her wrist and the coin soared directly into the cup. _'It was an accident.' _She had told Charles. He had raised an eyebrow as Sean cleared up the mess. _'You seem to be getting yourself into all sorts of accidents recently.'_

A strange knock on the oak door behind her distracted Emilia from the books that sat on the thousands of shelves around her.  
"Who is it?"  
"It's Hank, can I come in?" Emilia turned away from the hardbacks and leaned forward against the table in front of her. With a quick tap of her finger the locks clicked out of place and the mahogany doors opened wide for him. Automatically, her eyebrows raised and gave him an uncertain look at the clothes he wore.  
"A tracksuit?" She continued to take in the grey workout clothes as Hank gave an awkward shrug in return.  
"We're all wearing them, well, apart from Raven and Moira."  
"So you're all training then?" She asked and gestured to a chair for him to sit.  
"Charles is training with Sean, he's been training with everyone in fact." She gave a small smile and took a seat opposite him. "How'd everything go with the doctors?" Her body tensed slightly and she swore her heart skipped a beat.  
"Fine," She lied. "It was just fine."  
"Well, what did they say?" Her throat became drier with each lie that left her mouth.  
"Oh… it was just a stomach bug. Anyway, what was it you wanted?" It was only then she noticed the box he held in his hand.  
"I came to ask a favour from you. I've already asked Raven again and she's up for it. It's just that you and Raven have very unique mutations, I was just wondering if I could-" She pulled up her sleeve and exposed her arm to him for the second time.  
"Go on." He gave a smile in thanks and pulled on a pair of gloves so their skin would not touch.  
"You already saw me come and ask didn't you? In one of your visions." Hank asked as he shot a grin at her before pulling out a small needle.  
"I don't understand why you doubt me." She grinned back as he pushed the metal into her skin ever so slowly.

_'Oh Emilia,' _She thought to herself as she saw droplets of blood resting on her skin, remembering the first time they had done this. _'You've become a guinea pig.'_

-o-

"Why are they even here?"

Raven felt the sun above them cast a shadow on her as she kept her place next to Charles. They stood under the huge elm tree that had kept its place in the Xavier gardens for over fifty years. Leaves scattered the floor around them, making crunching noises wherever they moved. A slight chill ran through her entire body from the lack of layers she wore.  
"They needed a safe place to stay." Charles answered. The people they were talking about only stood a couple yards away. Julian stood with Adrienne and the child between them stumbled as it babbled to itself. The golden lab they had brought with them bolted around the open area encircling the grassland. Maisie's green hair was only a few shades lighter than the soft pelt rabbit she held in her chubby hands.  
"What are we now, a sanctuary for the homeless?" Her elbows rested atop of her scrunched fists as she crossed them in front of her. She eyed the family while Charles came to their defence.  
"They're in need of our help Raven, can't you see that?" It was true, even Raven knew that the family in front of them were already benefiting from the household. Mostly because of how undernourished they had once looked and how they had barely been able to keep their eyes and hands off the food that was given to them. However, what put her off them was the hesitant glances, their inability to keep still and how at every single noise they would jump and go straight into defence mode. She didn't answer him, instead she watched the toddler.  
"What do you think of Maisie?" A smile came on Charles' face as he too watched Maisie play with her parents.  
"She's certainly something else, isn't she?" He was taken with her. Raven quickly noted that it wasn't a surprise, Charles was normally taken with strange and unwanted things.  
She was one of those things.  
"She won't be accepted… you know that, don't you?" Charles let out a small huff and his smile disappeared.  
"Society will change Raven." She rolled her eyes and held her arms tighter around herself.  
"Yeah right."  
"You don't believe me?" Gradually, she raised her eyes to meet her brothers. "Or do you just not want to accept it?" Before she could answer, Hank saved her as he jogged up to them.  
"You ready Professor?" He asked Charles.  
"Hank, you don't have to call me that." He cringed at his title before remembering his training with the young mutant. He turned to Raven after he took a couple steps forward.  
"We'll talk after."  
_'No we won't'_ Raven thought to herself as she watched him walk away. He'd forget about her, he'd focus on everyone else but her. Hank, sensing her distress, turned around and sent a smile her way. She beamed back and felt her teeth biting down on her bottom lip to control the smile breaking out on her face.

In fact, she didn't think she'd mind Charles not seeing her for the rest of the day. It meant she could see a certain someone else. With that thought, she walked away alone and left the eccentric child with her family.

-o-

Today she had skipped dinner, celebrated her dad's 43rd birthday by herself and was kissed by someone other than Charles.  
How nice.

After having her blood drawn by Hank, Emilia had wandered around the winding staircases and never ending corridors trying to get to know the place. However that had to lead to her hearts one true calling, food.  
The moment she had taken a step into the tiled room she had immediately whirled back around to retreat. They were cooking chicken and the scent had wafted into her face when she had entered. She had gagged and scrambled away from the both humorous and concerned stares sent her way.  
"Em'?" Charles had called after her. "You alright?" She was already half way down the hall with a mid-stitch making its way up her side.  
"Mmph." She had intolerably replied with her hand pressed against her mouth. She had latched herself onto the side door and pushed it with all the strength she had.  
Then she was out.  
As the cool breeze hit her face and made her eyes water, the gagging had stopped and the bile had gone down.  
_'One of the symptoms to early pregnancy is craving or not being able to stand certain food,' _one of the doctors had told her in a chirpy voice. They had also tried to make the situation lighter by joking around._ 'You've also got fatigue, nausea and mood swings to look forward to.'_

The idea of going back inside the humid and sickening room made her gag again. She thought of slipping quietly into her room and snacking on some of the apples that she had 'borrowed' from the kitchen from the past night. Except there was one problem.  
Her room was on the other side of the mansion. She would have to go past the kitchen and smell the horrendous food. That meant bumping into people she nearly threw up on. People who would ask questions.  
"Oh bollocks." Emilia muttered to herself as she set off on another of her stupid decisions. Her legs went off in a dazed run past the old brick walls and rooted garden trees. The footsteps she made were loud and cumbersome as she turned the corner.  
Unfortunately, she did have to pass someone in her tracks. Erik was a couple of metres away training by himself. He jogged past her with a bemused look on his face as he watched her run. The bemused look turned into a laugh and the laugh turned into a roar as he watched her skid around the corner and barely manage to maintain her balance. She kept a straight face until she left his sight, only then did she let Erik hear her laugh with him realising that she must have resembled a headless chicken.

Somehow that made him smile, knowing that Emilia was happy in her own way. A twinge of jealousy soon corrupted him as he realised that it was no longer him that was the cause.

-o-

She realised that it was her dad's birthday after Sean had jumped out of the window. Well, it was more a fall than a jump and had led to her uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Hanging her head out of the window, she let the soft breeze pull and tug at strands of loose hair. She was situated underneath the others, she watched from the side as every once in a while someone would give a curious glance down. She was on her own not wanting to share a window for her want of personal space. Also because she really wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Now remember, scream as hard as you can." Charles told Sean. The ginger tapped his feet against the brick wall repeatedly, trying to distract himself.  
"You need the sound waves to be supersonic," Hank continued, attempting to reassure him. "Catch them at the right angle and they should carry you."  
"They _should_ carry me?" Hank gave a quick nod, oblivious to the fact that he was making Sean's nerves worse. "_That's reassuring_." He spoke sarcastically to Charles. He earned a chuckle and slap on the back as Charles and Hank moved away from the ledge.  
"Good luck," Charles said before adding "And don't forget to scream." Sean took deep breaths before raising his arms outward, resembling a bird about to take flight.  
He did not fly. In Emilia's view, he more or less flopped. He gave a short squawk before he landed face first into the bushes below. He landed inches away from where Emilia stood. She leaned over, trying to hold a serious face incase Sean had been badly hurt. She nudged his side a few times trying to get his attention. He snapped his head up immediately sending her a sour glare as she let out a loud laugh. Leaves and twigs were not only stuck in his hair, they also hung out of his mouth. He attempted to spit them out but instead caused himself to nearly swallow a leaf.

She had shed a tear from quietly laughing to herself whilst everyone, apart from Erik, voiced their concerns for Sean. When Charles had noticed her small body rocketing up and down from silent giggles, he quickly asked to go check on the food before Sean got offended by her lack of sympathy. She was too absorbed in controlling her breathing patterns that she forgot about the whole chicken ordeal from earlier. When she remembered, she pinched her nose and held her breath as she checked on the rice and peas that weren't too far from the foul smelling meat. A basic calendar hanging on the fridge had caught her eye.  
_26th of October._  
All the other dates before the 26th were crossed out. The smile fell from her face and she forgot about the smell, the food and Sean's fall. She felt her hands drop to her side and her breath falter.  
She should be there with her him on his birthday. Emilia could envision it now. She'd hand her dad a book, like always, one that he probably wouldn't read but have the kindness to act like he cared for it. He had struggled with reading, so did her younger brother Steffon. However, he'd try just for her, just for his baby. He'd complain saying that some of the words she found easy to read were back to front for him. It would end up with her sitting by his feet in the evenings reading for him while he'd give running commentary.

_"That Gandalf is bit of an arse for inviting all those munchkins without Bilbo Boggins' permission." _She could hear his voice just as if it was today, as if she was in the room with him._  
"It's Baggins dad," _Her younger self would correct while Bonnie and Steffon would creep into the room wanting to be part of the duo's story._ "Bilbo Baggins is his name. Anyway, they're dwarves not munchkins, that's the Wizard of Oz' you're thinking of."  
"Oh same thing. Y'know... you look like one."  
"Like what?"  
"A Bilbo."  
"You mean a hobbit? I don't have hairy feet thank you very much." _Steffon, who was only five at the time, lifted his own feet high in air to check in case it turned out he was in fact a 'Bilbo'.  
_"No but you're the same bloody height as one," _Bonnie would giggle at the silliness between them. Her dad would open an eye and find Bonnie._ "I don't know what you're laughing at, you're not even half your sister's height."  
"Oh boo you." _She'd reply in a failed attempt to win the argument._  
"Oh go back to your hobbit hole Em', _He leaned back into seat and shuffled his body to get more comfortable. _"If you're going to read then read. I want to know if the dwarves get their sad mountain back."  
"It's the lonely mountain dad."  
"Oh just read the bloody book Emmy."_

Alex came in the kitchen when she had finished checking the food.  
"Chicken smells good." She couldn't be bothered to disagree or hold conversation longer than a couple of minutes. She needed to be on her own.  
"Yes, smells great." She lied. Alex moved past her and began scooping the rice onto different plates.  
"How much you want Em'?" When she didn't answer he tore his gaze from the food. "Em?"  
"Sorry. Actually, I'm not hungry." Alex gave a confused look to her as her stomach made itself known through a rumble that went through her entire body. He didn't question her none the less.  
"You want me to keep you some food for later?"  
"No thank you, but thanks for… y'know."  
"Yeah, I know." With that she left Alex on his tod before the others piled in.

-o-

Roughly thirty minutes after the calendar incident and an hour after running from the chicken fiasco, she was disturbed from painting her nails by a fellow mutant. They didn't knock, they had known each other for what seemed like so long that the action had become unnecessary. Emilia took one look at her and then went straight back to her polishes.  
"Blue or red? I haven't cracked open the blue before."  
"Try a small bit of the blue on your thumb first." Raven replied. She sat on the bed behind the vanity table, watching Emilia closely. She dabbed the light blue onto her nail and waited for it to dry.  
"I think I might dye my hair." Raven stared at Emilia through her mirror, deciding to carry on her attempt at a conversation.  
"What colour?" She asked.  
"A darker shade of brown. But, I haven't gone blonde before, maybe I should try that."  
"What about the white in your hair?" The white sections caused by Cerebro ran freely through her thick locks, Raven had noticed that recently Emilia had been trying to hide her unnatural hair by clipping darker sections on top.  
"I'm getting rid of them, I look like an idiot."  
"You look perfect to Charles... and me." Raven voice took a quieter tone. Emilia looked up and gave a grateful smile to her.  
"What do we think of blue?" Emilia asked Raven, extending her thumb out comically as she leaned over the chair at an awkward angle.  
"Red looks better." Emilia flashed a grin as Raven pushed her lightly back into her seat. "Don't lean over chairs like that, you'll fall and break your neck." She started on the red nail polish as they went into a silence. Raven kept on fidgeting, remembering why she had really came.  
"How are things?" The blonde asked as she decided to delay the matter at hand. Mentally, she slapped herself for being a coward.  
"Good," Emilia replied as she painted her left thumb. "I finished reading 'Of Mice and Men'."  
"Oh, was it good?"  
"Yes, very good in fact." Another silence crept over. Raven noticed that Emilia was now on her smallest finger, this was her time to strike.  
"I read a book."  
"Raven Darkholme read a book, I'm surprised. Was it filled with pictures?" Raven bit down on her lip as her eyes fell slightly. _'It's just a joke,' _she told herself. _'She doesn't mean it.'  
_"It had diagrams if that counts," She said, going along with being the butt of Emilia's joke. It wouldn't matter in the end, not when Raven was done with her. "It was a medical book."  
"Why are you reading those books?" Emilia asked with a smile that never seemed to leave her face.  
"Oh just out of interest." A lie. Raven felt the corners of her mouth upturn as an idea came to mind. "I found out some pretty cool stuff."  
"That's why we read, Raven." Emilia's right hand was nearly done. "Go on, tell me what you found out."  
"Uh… well we have twenty-seven bones in our hand. Babies only blink once or twice a minute while adults blink around ten. Oh," Raven _'suddenly'_ remembered the most important part. "Did you know that in the fifth week of pregnancy the baby is supposed to only be the size of a sesame seed?" She noticed Emilia stop, the nail brush in her hand wavered slightly. However, she waved Raven off and carried on.  
"Is it that small?" Emilia wondered out loud to Raven.  
"Yep, and did you know that apparently the first fifteen weeks of pregnancy are the absolute worst?" Emilia shifted uncomfortably.  
"Are they?"  
"Oh yes, it's all down to tiredness, swelling, throwing up every minute of the day…"  
"Wait what?" Emilia stopped her in an appalled voice, her voice going an octave higher. "Swelling?"  
"You didn't know? The breasts swell up and the face and feet do as well. Actually… I think that might only be at the very end of the nine months…"  
"How big do they swell up?" Emilia asked hurriedly. She stilled for a moment then looked up at Raven. "Just wondering out of interest of course."  
"Hmm, I don't know how much by but I think it'll make them look pretty big."  
"But that's what happens in when you're having a baby, you're supposed to get big."  
"Yes but it's at an early stage so you don't look that much pregnant… you'd just look like you're getting fat." Emilia went silent and bit down on her lip in thought. Raven saw this as the beginning of her success. She could already see the flags of Emilia's surrender flying up high in her mind.  
"Y'know," she went on. "I don't think I ever want to be pregnant."  
"Oh, really?" Emilia asked, both eyebrows raised in curiosity.  
"Yeah… but if I ever was, you'd be the first to know."  
"Why's that?"  
"You're my closest friend Emmy, I trust you and I know you'd be there for me like I'd be there for you." Emilia blinked twice and appeared to be deciding something as Raven secretly leapt for joy, knowing that she had done it. She waited for Emilia to turn around and say:  
_'Raven, there's something you need to know…'_  
Instead she got a:  
"Thanks Raven."  
_Any fucking time Emilia_

Raven narrowed her eyes down at Emilia's reflection. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she gripped onto the ends of her dress. The only thing worse than a stubborn Emilia was an Emilia in denial. Unfortunately, that was exactly she was dealing with.

"Cut the crap Emilia." She froze as Ravens tone changed completely.  
"Cut the crap?" Emilia could already feel the blush scorning her cheeks.  
"I read up about your symptons, being sick, tiredness and everything else," Raven stood up and came behind the chair Emilia sat on. "Em… are you pregnant?" Emilia stopped painting her nails and held the brush mid-air. She allowed the red paint to ooze down onto the tissue underneath as her tongue caught itself in her throat. "Speak to me Em'." Raven spoke just above a whisper. After a while she finally found the courage to speak.  
"If I say it out loud then that means it's true, that means it's really happening."  
"Is that such a bad thing?" Raven asked.  
"Yes," Emilia said. "I don't want it to be true."  
"Does Charles know?"  
"No."  
"You need to tell him."  
"I can't." Emilia pushed the brush into the bottle and got out of her chair away from Raven.  
"Yes you can," Raven followed after her a couple of steps. "Hell, I'll even do it myself if I have to."  
"No," Emilia whipped around to face Raven at the speed of light. "You can't tell him, he mustn't know."  
"He deserves to Em', he's in this as much as you are." Emilia wrapped her arms in front of her, her right hand running up and down her left as she comforted herself.  
"Yes," Emilia said. "And you're not." Somehow, Raven took the meaningless comment to heart.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, her hands poised on her hips.  
"This isn't anything to do with you so just leave it."  
"This is Charles we're talking about, _my_ brother and his baby, _my _soon to be niece or nephew."  
"I said leave it Raven." For some reason Raven can't control it, she finds her words coming out like hot lava.  
"Unless it's not Charles' child. Is that why you don't want to talk about it? Is that why you're so scared Em'?" The room went quiet and soon a ringing came to Ravens ears. If looks could kill Raven would have been hung, drawn and quartered by Emilia's glare.  
"What did you just say?" Emilia hands dropped to her sides.  
"Emmy-" Raven began.  
"No," Emilia hissed. "What the actual fuck did you just say to me?"  
"I was implying," Ravens voice raised as she met Emilia's cold stare. "That the reason you're not telling anyone is because you're afraid of it not being Charles' child."  
"Get out of my room Raven."  
"No."  
"I said get out now."  
"No, I won't. You're being selfish Emilia and I'm trying to be a friend before this all goes downhill."  
"If you were being friend you would drop it, stop accusing me of things and change the conversation."  
"Alright then."  
"What?"  
"I'll change the subject," She froze as she tried to think of something. "Why're you pushing me away?"  
"Raven…"  
"No, I'm being serious. We're supposed to be best friends and suddenly you're being awful to me."  
"Ignoring the fact that you did just accuse me of cheating, all I've done is disagree with you, is that so bad?"  
"Yes, yes it is!" Raven sighed after her loud outburst, she carried on in a calmer tone. "This is a baby we're talking about Emmy." Emilia pointed to herself.  
"My baby, not yours."  
"All I want to do is to help you and I feel like I'm losing you."  
"I don't want or need help from you."  
"You've barely been eating Em', you've got bags under your eyes and you're trying to avoid everyone but Hank."  
"I'm getting better," Emilia defended herself. "I swear I am."  
"That's not good enough." She risked her chances and took a step forward "Why won't you let me in?"  
"Raven, I can't even look after my own sister let alone care for a baby." Before Emilia could say any more, Ravens engulfed her into a hug.  
"Bonnie was in a different country, you couldn't have known that Shaw was going to go after her." She rocked her side to side, just like you would with an upset child. "It's going to be okay Emmy, I promise."

She broke away from the hug and gazed down at Emilia, taking her in slowly. The top of hair was puffed up as Ravens head had just been resting on it, the streaks of white running through never faded and were as new as the day she had got them. The purple bags under her eyes made her look ill, as if the 'sick' story from the doctors could have been true. Her lips had self-inflicted bite marks covering them, a common trait they both shared.

It might have been from the emotions running high through the room but that's when Raven can't contain herself. Their brief embrace marking the moment when she messed everything up for the both of them. She leaned in quickly and captured Emilia's lips with her own. She held onto her, wanting her to know that she doesn't have to be alone anymore. Emilia did not pull away nor did she kiss back, staying stiff and immobile out of shock at Raven's actions. She waited until it was over before she backed away. It was only then, when Raven realised what she had done, does she panic. Her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped and retreated from Emilia.

"Oh my god," Her breathing sped up by each passing second. "Oh my god, I'm sorry. I... I… I didn't, I didn't, oh Em' I'm so sorry." Raven slumped down onto Emilia's bed and dropped her head into her hands. Emilia watched as Raven's breathing pattern began to get faster and she noticed her hands had started to shake.  
"Raven calm down." Her entire body shook and Raven couldn't seem to catch her breath. In fact, she resembled Emilia's sister whenever she had one of her panic attacks.  
_Shit._  
Oh Emilia you idiot.  
Raven was having a panic attack.

Emilia swore under her breath as she rushed over to Raven. With gentle hands that had done this way too many times, she held onto Ravens shoulders and stroked up and down.  
"Look me Raven, it's going to be okay. You hear me? It's okay." Ravens eyes were clamped shut and she was unable to move from the sharp pains in her chest. Emilia's mind went blank on what to do. The last time she helped her sister back home with an attack was over four years ago. She tried remembering what she had once done with Bonnie. At a high-speed she pulled down the opening of her loose shirt by a couple of inches, exposing a section of her chest. She grabbed Ravens hand and placed it over her bare skin. Ravens eyes flew open in confusion and her eyes latched onto Emilia's.  
"You feel my heartbeat?" Emilia asked Raven, she gave a weak nod in response. "You just focus on that okay? We're going to make your heart go down to that." Ravens eyes scoured around the room as a dizziness made the room spin. Her head dropped as the room spun and spun and spun.  
"On the count of three, we're going to breathe in through our nose okay? One… two… three." Raven took a deep breath in with her. "Now breathe out through your mouth." They carried on the routine for roughly ten or fifteen minutes until Raven regained her usual breathing pattern and the beating from her heart matched Emilia's.

It didn't end there. Ravens body continued to shake afterwards and apologies kept flowing from her mouth. "I'm sorry," She kept saying. "I'm sorry, please don't tell Charles."  
"I won't tell him, don't worry." She lightly pushed Raven back so she was lying on the bed. "Go to sleep now, you'll feel better when you wake up." She draped a woollen blanket over her that had been resting in the corner.  
"Read to me?" Raven asked. Whenever Raven asked someone to read to her it was usually Charles and that was to only make fun of his work. Emilia hoped that the blonde did not plan to mock her. She leaned over to the desk against her bed and picked up her tattered copy of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. She tucked Raven in to her bed, making sure that she was in tight and sat down next to her.  
_"Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy."_ As she read, Emilia noticed the sun beginning to go down and shifted closer to Raven. _"This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids." _

Two chapters later, just as she was about to read how Lucy came back through the wardrobe to her brothers and sister, she saw Ravens eyes drift to a peaceful close. Ever so quietly, she closed the book and made her way across the room.  
"Emmy?" Raven murmured. Emilia stopped in her tracks and stayed still.  
"Yes?"  
"You're going to be a great mom." Normally, Emilia would have criticised the American way of saying 'mum', but Raven had already fallen into a light slumber. A light snore filled the room and only then did Emilia realise how dark it was outside.

Altogether she had skipped food for the benefit of not throwing up in front of everyone, remembered that she would probably never see her father ever again, and was kissed by the adopted sister of her unborn child's father.

Sometimes Fridays get a bit too wild.

* * *

**A/N: Oh it's me again with another chapter. I'm going to add all the 'thank you's for the people who have reviewed(**not many, whyy guys :( what happened?)**, favorited and followed tomorrow. **

**I'd say we have roughly three chapters left till First Class has ended, *weeping* my babies have all grown up and now they're all going to leave me.**

**If you could leave a review, or at least follow/favorite, that would really make my day. **

_WHAT DO WE THINK OF THE AMOUNT OF BOOK REFERENCES I'VE PUT IN, DO WE LOVE OR HATE? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RAVEN IN THIS CHAPTER? DO YOU THINK EMILIA IS GOING TELL CHARLES ABOUT THE BABY ANYTIME SOON? OR WILL HE FIND OUT FOR HIMSELF?_

_**PREVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER:**_ _Shaw makes a phone call with a certain redhead_ **-** _Charles asks an important question_** -**_ And Emilia sees what is supposed to happen in Cuba... Will she stop it?_


	12. Dynamic Duo

**Chapter 11 - Dynamic Duo**

**'Open your eyes**  
**Like I opened mine**  
**It's only the real world.'**

_Careful, Paramore_

* * *

-o-

She woke up with an ache in her back and a dog chewing her toe. At first Emilia thought she was still dreaming, that was until she noticed the wet lapping against her left foot. Blinking open her eyes, she lifted her head out of the cradle her arms had provided and gave a tired scowl to the retriever. She shooed it away whilst rubbing her eyes. Pulling herself out of the velvet chair she had slept in, she padded over to the unlocked door and held it open for the disturber of peace. Its golden mane gleamed as it raced past her letting out a bark of triumph.

Confused about how the dog even managed to get in, she went to close the door. A pink note caught the corner of her eye. She bent down and grasped the note between her fingers.

_'Just because you're 'ill' does not mean you miss out on training,'_ it read. _'I'll meet at your room at half two, get Darkholme out.'_

"Darkholme?" Emilia asked herself as she narrowed eyes down at the foreign scrawl.  
Then it clicked.  
Her head snapped up and saw a familiar bundle wrapped under the deceased Sharon Xaviers ancient silks. There lay Raven in her blue scaled and red-haired glory.

_'It shows that you make her feel safe'_ Said a voice to comfort Emilia over Raven's natural appearance. Yet, Emilia could not hide the guilt over what had happened last night. The argument, the kiss and the panic attack. _Oh god._ They had kissed. She changed into new clothes and then ran down to the kitchen. If she was going to wake Raven up then she needed to make the mutant some tea.

The walk through the halls was quiet, so quiet that it was almost unnatural. Her fear that everyone had gone out and forgot about her was soon vanished as Sean was the first face she met when she entered the kitchen.

Hey Em', a phone call came for you." She noticed Charles sitting at the table reading a newspaper. She stopped in her path and tilted her head at Sean.  
"Was there?" She asked.  
"Yeah it was from heaven, I think they're missing an angel." She rolled her eyes and took a forward away from him.  
"You're real cute Sean, but we're not going to be a thing."

Sean mumbled something but she ignored him as she drifted over to Charles. A chuckle came from him as she bent down and kissed him on the cheek. "Fancy a tea?"  
"That'd be splendid."  
She found that someone had already boiled some water in preparation. She dropped a couple of teabags into a porcelain teapot and then poured the water in afterwards. Just as she put the lid onto the pot, she felt something move next to her.

"Has anyone ever told you how-" Sean had begun before she cut him off.  
"I think it's best for your ego if you go stand over there." He frowned and turned away.

Julien came into the room at that moment and called out to the ginger behind her.  
"You still practising your ever decreasing pickup lines on Charles' wife, Sean?" Before Emilia could call out to remind him that they weren't married, Sean had replied.  
"Well you can't blame me for- _wait_, what do you mean my pickup lines are _'decreasing'_?" Sean was about to chase Julien out of the room before Charles stopped him. She poured the tea into a cup and made her way over to Charles.

"How about we try flying again today, Sean?" Sean gave a look of betrayal in response.  
"You already let me fall out of a window yesterday," He pointed a finger straight at him. "One window per week, that's your limit." Charles thanked Emilia for his tea before turning back to him.  
"Oh I promise you, Hank and I have thought of another place." Emilia smirked as she turned away, knowing where he had in mind. Spying out the window she spotted the satellite dish and reminded herself to watch Sean later. As she returned to the teapot, another voice broke out.

"Is there coffee going around?" Emilia raised her eyes at the sound of Raven's groggy voice in obvious need of caffeine.  
"Emilia just made tea." Charles informed her as Sean left the room. Emilia went to pour another cup, remembering her true intention.  
"Well then I'll make a coffee." She put the pot back down.  
"Coffee is unhealthy and bad for you." Raven turned slowly and narrowed her eyes down at her brother.  
"But I like coffee."  
"It's tea or nothing and I won't have another word on the matter Raven." Giving up the argument, she gave a huff and slumped down on the table.

Charles soon finished his drink and when he put his cup in the sink he left a kiss on Emilia's cheek. When he left the room, she immediately poured another cup from the coffee pot in the corner. It wasn't as hot as the tea she could have given her but it would still do the job.

"I think Julien made himself some before I came in." Emilia explained as she put the cup down in front of her. Raven's appearance had changed, her blonde hair had returned with the fake pale skin.  
"Thank you." Neither attempted to make conversation as Raven sipped her drink. It wasn't until Raven grimaced in disgust at the taste that she decided to speak. "Julien doesn't make good coffee."  
"Or maybe you're just not used to the way he makes it." Although she complained, Raven continued to drink.  
"You make the best ones."  
"Thank you." She looked up to find a shy Raven smiling at her. The smile soon vanished from her face.  
"Can we talk about last night?" She asked. Emilia paused and her eyes flickered up to the clock on the wall. 12:15. An excuse popped up in her head and her legs begun to move.  
"I have something to do, somewhere to be." Raven called out in an attempt to stop her, but her voice was cut short as Emilia had already left the room.

-o-

There's over two hours to waste and she knows exactly who to spend it with. She knocked her knuckles against the door to her signature tune. Hanks voice called out for her to come in, automatically knowing that the only person who bothered to tap in rhythm would be her. Slowly, she pushed the door open and peeked into the mysterious room that had become his lab. Mounds and piles of paper took over the surfaces of the tables as Hank sat at a desk looking through a microscope.

"Sorry about the mess," He apologised as he tore his eyes away from what he was working on. "I've been meaning to tidy up." Apart from the mountain of papers, there was no untidiness that Emilia could see. Files were colour coordinated, pencils were placed in order of height and books were put in order of author. Not bothering to disagree incase it became an argument on her behalf, she went ahead agreed with him.

"It's fine." She replied. Emilia made her way over to him after her study of the room. "What're you working on?"  
"It's Raven's genes," He said, not bothering to look up from the microscope. "They're extraordinary."  
"Well it's Raven, she is quite 'extraordinary'." Hank gave a sheepish grin in reply. It took him a couple of seconds to realise what she was there for.

"You must be here to see what I found?" She gave a nod in reply as he went forward and rummaged through his papers. After finding nothing, he leaned down, pulled open a drawer and then brought out two pieces of paper. "Your cellular structure is similar to Ravens in some aspects. Her cells age at half the rate of a normal human."

"So when we're all sixty she'll look thirty?"  
"Well, everyone here but you."  
"What?"  
"When you and Raven are thirty years old you'll both still have the leucocytes of teenagers."  
"And when I'm sixty?" She asked.  
"You'll look like a forty year old woman."  
"And Raven?"  
"I'd say around thirty."

"How's that even possible?" She questioned.  
"It's a side affect of your mutation." She waited for him to elaborate but he said no more and went back to his work.

She noticed the huge pile of paper Hank had collected on Raven compared to the two sheets he had found on her. A shy smile came to her mouth.  
"That's a lot of paper." She commented. A blush came to his cheeks.  
"Well yes, Raven has an amazing cellular structure and-"  
"And I don't?" She had not meant to offend him. A shade of pink stained her cheeks as it marked her embarrassment of what had left her mouth. He struggled to find words.

"No, n...no. It's not like that. I..I've never seen any cells like Ravens." He sighed. "It's just that you've got most of the mutations of the people who live here. It's not like we haven't seen any of them before."  
"But that's the thing Hank," He finally looked up from his work after turning away from her. "Metal, shapeshifting and all the others aren't my mutation. Absorption... mimicking, or whatever you want to call it, is my mutation."  
"I know that but-"  
"No," She cut him off. "I don't think you do." As they both went quiet momentarily, she could hear the faint drip of water coming out of one of the taps.

"I want to know more about my mutation Hank and you were supposed to find that out for me but you didn't." A guilty conscience flooded him and his eyes dropped down to the floor.  
"I'm sorry, I've been distracted by Raven's mutation."  
"Distracted by her mutation?" She asked. "Or her face?" His cheeks went a more violent red. His eyes shifted around nervously and he fidgeted in his seat as he changed the conversation.

"You got to remember as well that Charles doesn't want to overwork you physically or mentally."  
"We don't have to listen to Charles right now."  
"Well you can't blame him. I mean, the last time you tried to go past your limit you nearly broke Cerebro, got an electric shock, collapsed and your hair turned white."  
"Not all of it turned white," She mumbled to herself.

She watched as he got up off his seat and went to collect some slides from the other side of the room. A grin took over her lips as she called out. "What happened to the guy who said that my mutation was incredible?" Hanks mouth twitched upwards slightly as a small smile played there.  
"He's still here."

-o-

Albert Camus once said that 'Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.' Looking across the green horizon surrounding the mansion, you would have never have thought it. The trees were still green with no discoloured leaves to make you think of the present season. There was no wind and the temperature barely left a chill. Although the scene was peaceful, one thing disturbed it. Well, if we're going to precise, two things disturbed it. In fact, they were not _'things'_ they were _'beings'_.

Charles Xavier held a slick metal gun in his right hand and held it high to the others head. He struggled with the foreign feeling in his palm as it shook.  
"You're sure?" He asked, attempting to prolong the dreaded action. Erik gave a nod as he worked himself up for it.  
"I'm sure." He replied. A manic grin made its way onto Eriks face in delight. Charles took a couple of deep breaths, preparing himself to commit the vile act.

There was no sun out that afternoon. Clouds covered the skies and the pond that lay a couple of yards away remained still. He shut his eyes and held onto the weapon tighter than before. He rested the nozzle against Erik's head and was met with a grin of encouragement.

"No," Charles finally said, the gun dropped and so did Eriks smile. "I can't, I'm sorry. I can't shoot anyone point blank let alone my friend."  
"Oh come on," Erik grabbed for the gun and held it to his head again. "You know I can deflect it. You're always telling me that I should push myself." Charles took back the gun.  
"If you know you can deflect it then you're not challenging yourself!"

Through their disagreement, neither men noticed the figure watching them three stories up.  
"If you're not going to shoot him then I will!" Shouted down a voice. Both men looked up to see Emilia leaning out of a window.  
"That won't be needed today, thank you Jones." Charles called up while Erik made the move to throw the gun up. Charles noticing this, stopped him and raised an eyebrow.  
"You know that she would never have been able to catch that." Erik gave a grin up at her much to Charles' dismay.  
"She learnt from the best." Erik replied.

There was a silence between them as they both watched her slip back into the shadows.  
"How is she?" Erik asked, hoping that Emilia would not hear but knowing that Emilia hears everything.  
"She's... she's good, I believe." Charles replied.  
"She'll need to train some more," Erik stated much to Charles' horror. "I'm open to helping her with my mutation."  
"You'd push her over the limit," Charles sounded displeased. "She needs rest."  
"She needs protection," Erik corrected. "You heard what Emma said, Shaw has got his eye on her. Wherever Emilia is, Shaw will always be watching her. You think that he won't kill her when given the chance?"

"You'd push her beyond her limit."  
"I was pushed beyond my limit." He retorted.  
"Yes, now you're man with a constant death wish. Do you really want the same for her?"  
_'No,'_ Erik thought to himself. _'I want more'_ He sought out the gun and handed it to Charles once again.

"Try again?" He asked. Immediately Charles recoiled from the touch.  
"No," He then sighed. "Whatever happened to the man who was trying to raise a submarine?"  
"What? No, I can't," Erik gave up in frustration and took the gun off Charles. "Something that big? I need the situation, the anger-"  
"The anger is not enough." Erik froze.  
"Well it's gotten the job done all this time."  
"It's nearly gotten you killed all this time." Charles responded. He turned and an idea came to mind. He patted Erik on the shoulder and brought him to the small brick wall that surrounded the green land.

"Hey, come here, let's try something a little more challenging." They crossed the gravel beneath and stopped at the edge of the path. "See that?" Charles asked. "Try turning it to face us." Erik stepped forward and held on to the old stone in front. He gave Charles a hesitant look over his shoulder and was returned a nod in reassurance as a reply. As he exhaled and moved into position, Emilia found herself getting bored.

"You still watching lover boy?" Adrienne asked.  
"Erik's attempting to move the satellite dish." Emilia explained. Turning away from the window, she crossed her room and seated herself on the floor.  
"How's he doing?"  
"Notice the word 'attempting'." Adrienne rolled her eyes at her comment and continued to bounce the two year old in her arms up and down.

"Look," she said. "Are we gonna' do this or not?" Emilia gave a nod and offered the mother a seat on her bed.  
"So... how do you do it?" Emilia asked. Maisie wrapped a lock of her mother's raven hair around her chubby hand.  
"First you gotta' picture the place you want to be in your head." Picturing the hall outside with its grand paintings and vintage decorations, Emilia nodded at her advice.  
"Done." She said.  
"Alright, now focus on it and keep it in your mind."  
"And then?" Emilia asked, her body fidgeted from the boredom.  
"And then," Adrienne continued on Emilia's sentence. "You do it."

"But _how_ do you do it?" Emilia's voice cried out in desperation.  
"Well you just picture yourself there and then it happens."  
"_Poof_," Emilia said. "Just like that?"  
"Just like that."

Before she knew it, a wild rush went through her body and her heart leapt up to her throat. The floor beneath her changed as the carpet became tougher. She peaked one eye open and found herself face to face with a framed water painting of a stormy sky. She jumped up and sprinted back to her room.

"I did it! I did it!" She yelled in excitement as a small Maisie giggled with laughter.  
"Y'know, you could have just teleported right back instead of running."  
"Don't ruin my buzz, Adie." Adrienne only smiled at Maisie's excitement and gurgles. "I'm going to do it again," Emilia declared. "I'll try outside next." A silence crept over them as Emilia's deep breaths filled the room. "What's wrong?" She asked as she noticed Adrienne disapproval.

"That's an awful long way."  
"So? You've gone further."  
"Hank and Charles warned me not to let you go too far." Emilia gave a short laugh.  
"What? They think I'll get lost or stuck in a tree somewhere?"  
"They don't think you'd be able to handle it." Emilia's smile faded.  
"Oh," She said. "Right, never mind."

"Sucks doesn't it?" Adrienne asked. Emilia looked up. "People thinking that you're weaker then you actually are."  
"I guess." She replied, feeling compelled to agree. Adrienne bounced Maisie up and down on her knee with the quietness that came afterwards.

"How's everything between you and Charles?" Emilia, surprised with the question, stood up straighter.  
"We're fine… thank you. How are you and Julien?" Adrienne gave a short shrug.  
"I guess we're alright."  
"Just alright?" Emilia asked, deciding to be nosy. Adrienne ignored her and wrapped her arms tight around Maisie as her legs took her to the open window.

"What's the situation with Erik?"  
"I don't know, I assume he'll leave after or just before Christmas."  
"He normally leaves then?"  
"It's in his nature." She replied simply.

Neither of them spoke as Emilia wondered how it was always her that came into uncomfortable silences with others. She decided to organise her vanity desk, shifting pictures and pieces of make-up into different places.

"Do you think he loves me?" The framed photo Emilia had been holding slipped out of her hand at the comment that left Adrienne's mouth.  
"Pardon?" She asked as politely as she could manage.  
"Do you think Julien loves me?" She asked again.

Emilia grasped for the picture and reset it before answering. "A couple of days ago you were accusing me of being a liar and now you're asking me if your husband, who you share a child with, loves you?"  
"I didn't accuse you of lying," Adrienne muttered. "I said you were false hope." _'Yes because that's so much better'_ Emilia thought snidely to herself. However, noticing her sad expression, Emilia felt obliged to help her.

"Julien loves you," She said. "Don't doubt it for a second."  
"How'd you know?" Adrienne asked.  
"Telepath, remember? Also, you can tell by the way he looks at you." She went on. "I hope I have someone who looks at me like that." Adrienne scoffed.

"Sweetheart, you got two people who look at you like that and I'm not even counting the blonde downstairs." Emilia's eyes widened in surprise.  
"You saw?" She asked. "You saw her this morning?"  
"I thought it was obvious from the note," Adrienne picked at the end of her nail in a bored fashion. "But I didn't know sweet little Miss Jones liked girls. Should I be afraid?" Red scarred Emilia's cheeks and her heartbeat picked up.  
"I'm not into-"  
"Does little Miss Jones not realise that she's breaking more then one heart?" She didn't reply. Instead she returned to the frames on her vanity table and went back to reordering them. _'Count to ten,' _She told herself. _'Count to ten and she'll go away.'_

_One_  
"Does Charles know that Raven is head over heels in love with you?"  
_Two_  
"Does Raven know that you're not into her?"  
_Three_  
"Are you even going to them the truth?"  
_Four_  
_"Do you even have the guts?"  
__Fuck it._

She whipped around and launched towards her but Adrienne did not even flinch.  
"You love her don't you?" Emilia froze in her march.  
"She's like a sister to me."  
"Funny," Adrienne said. "I had a sister once, I don't remember kissing her."

Before she leapt forward again, her eyes caught Maisie's. Big violet eyes stared back at her in confusion. _'Beautiful,'_ Emilia thought of the child's odd matching hair and eyes. _'Unfortunate... but quite beautiful.' _"You're too afraid to tell them aren't you? You're too much of a people pleaser that you don't want to disappoint them."

"Leave me alone." Emilia told her, giving up. She sunk down in her chair and wallowed in defeat. Adrienne gave one last fleeting look out the window to Charles before taking a couple steps back. "Y'know," Adrienne continued. "You could live a thousand lives and still not deserve that man." And with that, Adrienne left her as Moira came into the room.

"The president's about to make a speech."

-o-

The main living area was taken up by ten occupants. Moira and Charles sat on the couch, leaning forward towards the TV in anticipation. Hank had both arms resting on the back with Raven and Sean to both of his sides. Alex stood by the armrest near Charles while Erik stood next to the lamp near the blond. He was close enough to have a clear view of the screen but not close enough to be near anyone else. Which was good. He wouldn't want anyone to think that he was warming up to them. Adrienne and Emilia both entered last of all after Maisie had been put down for her nap. A cold distance was kept between them while Julien followed in closely behind.

_"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States,"_ Moira and Charles met each other's eyes and gave a knowing look. Emilia bit down anxiously on her lip, out of fear and the headache that had recently broken out as she listened on. _"… Requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union..."_

"That's where we're going to find Shaw." Erik interrupted.  
"How do you know?" Alex asked.  
"Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War three," Charles spoke with his eyes never leaving the screen. "He won't leave anything to chance."  
"So much for diplomacy," Erik said. "I suggest you all get a good night's sleep."

As he turned to leave the room, he caught Emilia's arm . "We need to speak." Although she believed that she had done her fair share of speaking today, Emilia quietly agreed and trailed after him. He led her out to the hall and they walked slowly together.

"Why so quiet?" He asked curiously. She gave a half-hearted shrug.  
"I'm not feeling too well," She spoke in honesty. "And, you know, the fact that we might be fighting in a war isn't that exciting."  
"There's no _'might'_," He corrected her. "It's definite." A chill went up her spine.

"When we fight against Shaw," He said, getting straight to the point. "I need to know that you're on my side." She lifted her head and gave a questioning glance.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Charles won't let me kill Shaw." He informed her.  
"It's understandable," She admitted. "Last time you nearly drowned."  
"We both know that you know me better than Charles does." A small blush came to her cheeks as she remembered certain _intimate_ moments. Yes, you could say they were close.

"What's your point?" He stopped their walk halfway down the hall. He turned towards her and looked her in the eye.

"I need you to distract Charles so I can kill Shaw."

Taken back by his request, she blinked a few times in shock. "Why would I do that?"  
"You and your family would be left alone."  
"The same would happen if he was captured. He'd be taken in by the CIA, questioned and then-"  
"-And then he'd escape." Erik interrupted her. "Oh come on Em', you know it just as much as I do. What do you think he'll do when he escapes?"

"If," She corrected him. "If he escaped."  
"He'd slaughter innocent people, is that what you want?"  
"No, of course I don't!"  
"So what's one death mean against the lives of hundreds?"  
"Nothing," She froze. "But I'm still not helping you." She began to leave but he grabbed hold of her arm.

"I'd pay."  
"I don't want your money Erik." She struggled to pry his fingers from her arm.  
"It would be hundreds, even thousands. Imagine what you could do with that."  
"I'd spend it! On crap and junk like I always do. Your money means nothing to me Erik." His hold weakened and she quickly set off once more, swaying slightly as a dull thump began in her head.

"If you help... I'll leave, if that's what you'd like me to do." She paused then turned slowly.  
"Why are you so desperate for me to help you? You're a one man show that's how it's always been."  
"Charles is going to be inside my head the minute he realises what I'm going to do. If you be my look out or play mind tricks with him that would be enough." Ignoring the waves of dizziness taking over her, she managed to meet his eyes.

"If you leave, it'll be as if you never existed?"  
"Yes."  
"Then, you've got yourself a deal."

She walked away feeling weaker than before. There was an ache in her head and the need to drop to the floor became heavy in her mind. She stumbled into the wall on her right and held on for dear life.  
Something was not right.  
She took a deep breath and then it happened. A sea of visions came as she nearly keeled over to the ground. She stiffened, closed her eyes and let them overcome her.

_Sebastian Shaw's eyes are ice cold.  
She stares into them, feeling as if he was staring into her soul as she gaped into his. Her skin crawls.  
He __stands behind a chair gripping a sharp knife in his hand. It had been especially sharpened for this moment. He twirls it around as the last light of day shone through a window. She recognises Angel's face in the small crowd of three surrounding him. She goes forward to check on her old friend before she realises.  
**Traitor.**_

_Angel does not have the eyes of a traitor. Her eyes are sad, very sad in fact. That's not the only thing Emilia sees. She sees repulsion. But what at?  
__She hides behind Azazel, whose face is as hard as stone. Riptide and the man she had come to know as her own personal devil stare straight ahead at something Angel turns her head at. Not understanding what Angel was refusing to see, she turns to seek out who the victim in Shaw's chair is._

_A small whine leaves her mouth as she spots the familiar bush of red hair. The girl is tied to the chair, red marks lace her skin from her attempts to fight against the bonds. She's smaller then Emilia remembers, she's thinner and more fragile than what she recalls in dreams and pictures._

_As Emilia reaches out for her, Shaw comes forward raising the blade up high.  
When it comes down Angel cries out in horror, Bonnie howls in pain and Emilia is dragged back to reality._

She opened her eyes and found that she was clutching onto someone's arms. A cold sweat had broken out on her body and her limbs shake.  
"What did you see?" She looked up and found Erik to be the one she was holding.  
"I saw Shaw." She said. "I... I saw Shaw with Bonnie."  
"With Bonnie?" Erik asked. Before she knew it, the room was spinning and she began to crash to the ground. Erik was her saviour and caught her in his arms before she landed.  
"He killed Bonnie," She whispered. "I saw him kill Bonnie." That's when her eyes rolled back and Erik shouted for help.

_'Hey,'_ a voice said before she went under. _'Maybe you and Erik can do a 'Bonnie and Clyde' and kill Shaw together?'_

She wasn't opposed to the idea.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys sorry that this authors note will be short. I've been in Manchester the past two days and now that I'm back I feel so ill. I've also got exams coming up that I have to revise for so do forgive me if the next chapter isn't as speedy.**

_**Reviews:**_

_tardiscompanion101: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed! :)_

_LuckyAsLockhart:__ I knew you would ;)_

filthyfairytale_: __ We'll just have to wait and see ;) Haha thanks! You're the bomb! :)_

_Kee: Hmm Emilia and (comic) Erik do have children in the future... them having children together is a thought that has crossed my mind ;)_

x XRoweenaJAugustineX x :_Thank you for your really kind review about Emilia. I didn't really want her to be the over the top unrealistic OC. So I was really anxious about people's view on her. Also thank you for the advice over PM as well :) (Am i aloud to say that I'm a really big fan of your GOT fanfic? Cause I am) :)_

_RicaBells78:__ WOW thank you so much! Shit hasn't hit the fan just yet... a little but there will be more shit. Awh thank you! I had huge writers block recently so your review was really appreciated! :) (p.s. I ship it even though I shouldn't) :) x_


	13. A Forgotten Corkscrew

**Chapter 12 - A Forgotten Corkscrew**

**'He said, "Now hush love, here's your gown."**  
**"There's the bed, lantern's down."**  
**But I don't want to go to sleep; in all my dreams, I drown.'**

_Jessica Lowndes and Terrance Zdunich, 'In All My Dreams I Drown'._

* * *

**-o-**

Charles watches over her like a hawk. Erik noticed that the minute he walked into the room.  
Another thing Erik noticed was that Emilia's skin had turned unnaturally pale in the last hour. Her dark locks, which had streaks of white from Cerebro, contrasted against her skin as it fanned out on the cushion they had rested her head on.

"How is she?" Erik asked after studying her.  
"Her pulse is still faint," Charles replied, he had been sitting by her side for a while now. "It's not picking up."  
"What did Hank have to say?"  
"He thinks it's just a wave of strong visions taking over." Erik snorted.

"_'Strong visions'_," He mocked. "_'Strong visions'_ is when she's frozen to the spot, this looks like she's on her death bed." Charles sent a glare his way and held onto Emilia's cold hand.  
"Don't say that."  
"What? Oh, come on Charles, she's as pale as a corpse."  
"And you have a lot of experience with them, do you?" Erik did not answer, instead he moved to where her head lay.

"Who decided to play with her hair?" Erik asked as he narrowed his eyes down at the locks which resembled a halo as it covered the entire cushion.  
"Adrienne and Maisie played with it in hopes that it would draw Emilia's attention."  
"She's unconscious, not in a funeral burial," Charles winced at his words. "It's the truth." He argued.

"I don't like the sound of your _'truth'_." Said a voice. They both turned to find Raven by the door.  
"Why are you here Raven?" Charles asked as he turned back to Emilia. Her eyes narrowed at his comment.  
"Aren't I allowed to be here? She's my friend as well." The room became silent. Erik raised an eyebrow and gave an expectant look, waiting for her to speak again. "And also," Raven began as she caved under Erik's gaze. "Moira's looking for you."

"What for?" Charles asked. He noticed that Emilia had begun to build up a temperature. He reached for the wet cloth Hank had brought and began to dab it onto her forehead. Droplets of water began to run down into her hair.

"I don't know, she wouldn't say."  
"Then it can wait." He replied. Raven's eyebrows raised in surprise at his comment.  
"Wait for what? Moira needs you." Charles shook his head.  
"Emilia needs me."

"To do what?" Raven demanded as her lips tightened into a thin line. "Wet a rag and hold her hand? Any of us can do that." Charles stayed still. He bit down on his bottom lip as his brows furrowed in thought.

"Erik, you will stay with her until I come back, yes?"  
"No." Charles' eyes shot to his and pleaded.  
"Erik."  
"I'm sorry Charles, but I want to know the plans being made."  
"You were there when she collapsed, seeing you might calm her."  
"Or set her off."

"I'll stay with her," Raven offered. However, she was met with blank stares. "I'll make sure she's safe." After a while of nagging and promises, Raven took Charles' seat next to Emilia's head. She shuffled the chair nearer to her friend. Her fingers reached out and pulled a strand of hair away from Emilia's face. As she tucked it behind her ear, Raven stayed still as she looked over the rest of her body.

Soon, her fingers began to trail down Emilia's arm until they reached her palm. Raven grabbed hold and gave a tight squeeze to Emilia's petite hand.  
She sighed, wondering how long she would be made to wait.

**-o-**

She opened her eyes to find a beam of light glaring down at her.

She blinked to clear her vision and discovered that it was the sun above her. She was surrounded by a never ending amount of sand under her feet on what appeared to be a tropical island. The sea swept in and out, spraying her as it crashed against the shore. The sand was soft against her body and she could feel herself melt into it. She sighed in delight as she took in her surroundings. No war with Shaw, no death threats and no danger at all in this paradise.

Emilia only then noticed the dryness in her mouth. She pushed herself up searching for a drink. Right in front of her was an oasis. The water gleamed underneath the light above and the palm trees surrounding it invited her toward them. She began to jog towards it, her feet sank into the thick sand as she tried to journey towards her goal.

After she traveled what she believed was a good five to ten minutes, she realised that she was much further away than she was before. She decided to run. The heels of her feet carried on sinking, going deeper and deeper the closer she got. She was midway when she looked down and somehow found herself up to her thighs in sand. As she struggled to pull herself out of the hole, she noticed that she was closer to the ocean then before. Just as she was about to give up hope, a pair of arms came from behind and wrapped themselves around her. They dragged her out without even the slightest hint of struggle. She couldn't tell who it was when she faced them, the face was blank and meant nothing to her. They stayed silent as they grabbed her hand and began to race to the Oasis with her.

When they got there together, she immediately collapsed onto the ground next to the pool of glistening water. Her saviour continued to sprint, leaving her behind as they did not dare look back once. She knelt down and cupped the water to her mouth. She went to take another mouthful, her eyes widened in horror as she took in what was before her. The water she had just drank was no longer blue, it had turned a sickening red. She could already tell that the liquid was thick and the smell was revolting-

Wait a minute, she knew that scent. It had plagued since the attack in the FBI facility. Right before her was blood. Wait, did she just drink someone's blood? Oh god, she might have just drank someone's blood and it had tasted exactly like water.

Out of the corner of her eye a figure moved next to the bank. She turned to see them sit a few feet away from her as if they were old friends.

"Like it?" Shaw asked as he gulped down some of the blood. "Personally, I prefer the after taste." He smirked at her and she saw the ends of his crimson stained teeth. She scrambled away to the other side, hoping that Shaw would disappear if she ignored him. "I actually made this for you." Her eyes widened at his words as she looked back. "I hear that you like a little kick in your drinks." He gave half a shrug, as if that explained why he had done it.

Emilia made the move to run. The next thing she knew he was right in front of her, preventing her from leaving. She cried out for help as he grabbed her hair and yanked her down to the pool.

"Drink it." He commanded. She didn't obey, instead she whimpered at the revolting smell. He shoved her head forward, the ends of her hair were dangling into the pool. "Drink it now."  
And she did.  
"Like it?" He asked as she gagged on the metallic taste. "Good," He said as he made her nod. "Because it's your sister."

She glanced across to where he was grinning at to see a corpse lying. She began to scream hysterically for help again and again.

"You're pathetic."  
Emilia opened her eyes to a woman standing above her. Although she looked familiar, Emilia could not place where she had seen her before. The woman had such light hair that it was almost white, it ended just above her waist. She seemed to be Emilia's age, maybe a couple years older. She was completely clad in white, that included the hair atop her head all the way to the sandals beneath her dainty feet. When Emilia met the others eyes, she remembered where she had seen this woman.

It had been the day of Charles' graduation, which seemed so long ago now. She had taken Adela's mutation by accident, then she fainted and then had her first ever wave of visions. The woman before her had been in her vision.  
That woman was Emilia.

Before she could say anything, the other Emilia glared down at her.  
"Look at you, crying for help." Her head tilted to sharply to the side. "You are always crying for help. It's pathetic Emilia." The eyes of the blonde Emilia flashed and then narrowed into slits. A dark chuckle left her mouth. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do this." From behind her back she pulled out a blade, just like the one Azazel had used to slaughter the CIA officers.

Emilia whimpered as she caught sight of the sharp blade being raised higher and higher into the air. She curled into herself, trying to remain quiet and waited for the blow that would wake her up.  
Nothing came.  
She peeked one eye open and searched.

Opposite her was no longer the woman, instead it was one of the CIA workers that had used her as bait when they were under attack in the old base. He launched forward and tackled her onto the ground. He clawed at her face, ripped her hair and cut into her flesh.

This time, she fought back. She clawed back at him like he had to her until she formed a fist and punched him the exact way her father had taught her to do it. If he was hurt then he didn't act like it, straight away he pushed her off him and forced her down against the sand. He straddled her waist as she attempted to crawl out from underneath him. His hands reached her neck and squeezed tight around her. He pushed his thumb harder against her throat, making it impossible for her to breathe, then her eyes slowly came to a close as his hold became tighter.

_"Wake up."_ A voice from nowhere begged. _"Please wake up."_

Something light brushed her face and once more she opened her eyes. A pair of sweet blues stared back at her.  
"Raven?" She asked. Raven beamed at her while nodding as she gripped Emilia's hand in relief.  
"It's me." Raven replied helping her sit up and then hugged Emilia tightly to her. "I'm here, you're going to be okay."

**-o-**

She was not a patient person, which was quite a big flaw for an avid reader. Raven had left earlier to find Hank and Charles to tell them that Emilia had come around. She had insisted that she was fine and just felt tired, however Raven replied with an eye roll and insisted to go find them. Emilia had waited fifteen whole minutes before she decided to leave the room. She roamed barefooted around the halls, not really knowing where she would end up. After spending weeks here she still did not know her way around. She swore she had only traveled ten minutes before found herself on the other side of the mansion. She came to a halt, she did not like this side.

Sharon Xavier had been a big fan of honouring their ancestors. Apparently, nearly every wall in the building was decorated with at least one piece of memorabilia. When she had first entered Charles and Ravens home, she noticed that the walls had pieces of artwork that belonged in museums. Everyone of those were either created by family or friends. When Charles' mother had sworn to honour each piece of art given to them, she meant every single one. So when she was given work that was deemed 'below average' or not suitable to show, they were put at the very back of the mansion where rarely anyone went.

Emilia wandered down the halls of the unwanted work. She could see why most of them were hidden from sight, one piece of work had a group of goblins holding down a woman as she screamed for help. The next, a woman with a spike going through her middle while different part of her body were being chopped apart.

_'...the only comfort you'll receive is the metal man impaling his sweet blade into your pale stomach'  
_She shivered and continued down the dark hall.

Her legs picked up the pace and moved faster to the nearest staircase. She went down two flight of stairs before she finally heard a faint voice. She followed it through a hallway until she got to one of the many living rooms. The door was open allowing Emilia to peer in. There stood Adrienne with her raven hair tumbling down her back. In her arms was Maisie who was struggling to keep her eyes open. However, at the sight of Emilia she began to stir.

"Hiya." She managed to say before beginning to babble. Emilia's eyes widened.  
"She can speak?" She asked. Maisie continued to repeat the word at Emilia while Adrienne turned and raised an eyebrow.  
"Of course she can."

"Hiya," Maisie repeated at Emilia. "Hiya, hiya, hiya."  
"She won't stop unless you say it back." Adrienne told her.  
"Hiya." Emilia replied. Maisie gave a sweet smile and gurgled as her head fell back against her mother's chest.

Emilia noticed the book Adrienne was holding.  
"I thought you had finished that?" She then tilted her head at her Tolkien book. "Wait, wasn't that in my room?"  
"I didn't think it would be that good." Adrienne replied, ignoring Emilia's last question.  
"It's _'The Hobbit'_, of course it's going to be good." She mumbled, trying not to become annoyed at Adrienne going into her room.

"They're looking for you." Adrienne informed her as she gave a soft kiss to the top of her daughters head. "They think you've disappeared."  
"Charles will look into your mind and find me, don't worry about it."  
"Oh I'm not worried, just passing on a message." Emilia sighed before sinking into one of the chairs.  
"Read to me?" Emilia asked. "Before they find me?" Adrienne's eyes went back to the book as Emilia closed her eyes.

_"The king looked sternly on Thorin, when he was brought before him, and asked him many questions. But Thorin would only say he was starving. 'Why did you and your folk three times try to attack my people at their merrymaking?' asked the king. 'We did not attack them,' answered Thorin; 'we came to beg, because we were starving.'_"

She felt herself begin to drift asleep until a hand began to shake her. Startled, she gave a small yelp and shot up to meet a familiar face.  
"Charles?"  
"Are you alright?" He asked. She nodded immediately. He held onto her arms as he helped pull her up from the couch. "Are you sure?"  
"I'm just tired, that's all." Maisie, after spotting Charles, began to babble before soon shouting at him.  
"Hiya!" Charles turned at Maisie's shouts and greeted both mother and daughter before returning to Emilia.  
"We'll have Hank look you over now, yes?" She nodded again, allowing him to take her from the room.

"Bye, bye." Emilia called out to Maisie as they left the room. Maisie looked up to her mother with her brows raised in confusion.  
"Ba, ba?" She attempted to repeat Emilia's words.  
"Ba, ba." Adrienne repeated.

Five minutes and a shortcut that Emilia had never known about later, they had entered the room where she had just previously been laying. Hank was already there setting out equipment.

"How are you feeling?" He asked the moment she came in.  
"I'm fine, just tired." As she went to lift herself up to sit on the table where he would examine her on, she felt a pair of hands stop her.  
"Let me help." Charles insisted. She wrapped her arms around him as he raised her up onto the table. Knowing that she had become heavier lately, she blushed lightly.

"Are you staying?" Hank asked Charles.  
Charles answered "Yes," as Emilia said "No." They both turned to each other and tried again.  
"No," Emilia responded while a "Yes." came from Charles.  
He reached for Emilia's hand and held it softly.  
"I'm staying."  
"No you're not," Emilia replied. "Moira and Erik need you."  
"You need me." He insisted.  
"Not as much as you think I do," She gave a small stroke against the back of his hand. "Right now they need you and I need Hank." He became quiet. Her hands trailed up his arms to his shoulders. "You need to stop worrying about me, I can take care of myself."

"You're barely five foot two," He joked. "I'm allowed to worry about you." She feigned offence and shoved him gently by the shoulder. Her hand stayed there, holding on to him as she found that she didn't want to let go.  
"Is that the only reason?" She asked. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.  
"It seems that lately, whenever I leave you, you're always getting hurt." She winked at him to lighten the mood.  
"I can't help that I'm so popular." She gave a brief kiss before pushing him away. "Now go." He took a couple steps back before giving a look to Hank.

"Look after her." Emilia rolled her eyes at him.  
"When don't I?" Hank replied.

Twenty minutes after Charles had left them, Hank declared that he had something to show her. Hank had finished the check up and was now bringing something out of his pocket. He held a black case in his hand and pushed it towards her.  
"What is it?" Emilia asked. Not bothering to wait for his answer, she opened the box the moment it was placed in her hands. Inside was a large needle.  
"It's the serum that I've been working on for you. I finished yours along with the others earlier. " Her eyes widened as she took in the size of the metal syringe. "Yours is different to the original I created. This one should prevent you from absorbing mutations, but still allow you to keep the ones that you've already got."

"Should?" She repeated, her voice going up an octave. She coughed straight after, hoping he hadn't noticed it.  
"Well," He began. "I haven't tested it out on anybody yet, you're the first." She stared down at the green liquid that was going to be inserted into her.

"You don't have to do this right now," he said to Emilia's relief. "I'll bring it with us tomorrow, in case anything happens."  
"Like what?" Hank shifted uncomfortably. "Hank?"  
"Well... you saw what happened with Azazel, if that was to happen again but worse-"  
"You think there's a chance I could hurt somebody?"  
"I think there's a chance you could kill somebody." She didn't bother arguing, she was hungry, tired and just wanted it all to be over with. _'__Trust the genius, Emilia' _She told herself.  
"If that's what you think." And that was that.

**-o-**

The first time she entered the huge doors of the Xavier's library, she noticed the huge windows at the very back. On bright days in would pour an outstanding light, giving it the look of magnificence. Artificial plants and flowers stood in each corner of the room, she knew her mother would have simply died. _'They've done it all wrong,' _she would have said_ 'they should have put the yellow Kenyan roses with lilac freesias and then add some rhododendron'._ However, the flowers had a unique look and none of the flowers in her mother's florist would have matched them.

Rows and rows of books went on forever. They were all aligned in alphabetical order varied in shape and size. Some were thick, heavy and went well over a thousand pages whilst overs were thin, small and barely went past seventy. Some of those books were ancient, even older than both her mother and grandmother.

It was the first library that Emilia had seen an actual ladder be but to use. The ladder went all the way to the very top shelf and was able to move around the cases. There was one for every row and each was attached to its own case. Emilia stood half way up one whilst fingering through the different titles.

"Isn't one of the main rules of a library is that food is not allowed?" Startled by the sound of another person, the book she held tumbled out of her hand. It fell with a thump against the floor.  
"What're you doing here?" She asked as she climbed down. Charles picked up the fallen book with a smile and handed it to her once she was on ground.  
"Aren't I allowed to see you? Were you planning on sharing those onion rings by the way?" She put the book down next to the bowl.  
"Adrienne made them, I had to beg her to spare me some, and don't worry, the others had some too."  
"Aren't you afraid you'll get grease all other the books?"  
"Trust me, I'm practically the master of multitasking when it concerns books and food." He chuckled at her comment.

"Why the library? Out of all the places you could go you choose to be here, why?"  
"I think it's the best place I've ever been," she looked up in awe. "I've never seen so many books in my entire life. It's... it's..." she struggled to find the words.  
"It's yours." He finished for her. She whipped around as her eyebrows went up and her eyes widened.  
"What?"  
"You like it that much you can have it."  
"You can't just give libraries away to people Charles."  
"I just did."  
"How smooth," she teased. She leant up and pressed a kiss against him. "Thank you, but this is your family's library, you can't give it to me."  
"You are family Emilia."  
"No I'm not." She went to a pile of books she had taken down earlier and began to sort through the ones she wanted to read.

"Marry me?" She abandoned the hardbacks in front to look at him. He held a single onion ring from the bowl between his fingers. Thinking that it must be a joke, Emilia raised an eyebrow and plucked it from his fingers.  
"You can't propose with an onion ring, idiot." She took a bite out of the ring and returned to the pile of books.  
"Lucky I have this then." She spun around at words and watched as he pulled out a navy box. She stayed silent as he opened it to show a actual ring inside. She swallowed the rest of onion ring in her mouth.

"Are you serious?"  
"I'm very serious." Next thing she knew she was crashing against him. Her arms wrapped around him as she couldn't stop saying yes.

"You really want to marry me?" She mumbled against his shoulder.  
"More than anything."  
"Are you sure?" It was Charles' turn to raise an eyebrow at her this time. "I'll shut up." She said as she tried to stop grinning.

**-o-**

"Champagne?"

"I'll have a glass." It was safe to drink a glass in her 'situation', she had read that somewhere. Although he didn't say anything in return, she could tell that there was a silent question in his eyes. He out of all people knew that she liked to drink much more than just one glass.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if you hadn't found me here that night." Emilia jumped at the new voice.

"Raven?" She turned to find a completely nude, and blue, Raven in front of her. Emilia's mouth fell into an 'O' shape.

"Sorry, what? You-" Charles' voice cut off as he also Raven. He shut the fridge door with a slam and looked at everything around the room but his sister. "For God's sake, Raven, where are your clothes? P-put some clothes on." Emilia found herself blushing as she realised that she still hadn't reverted her eyes.

"That's not what you said when you first saw me." Raven sat down at the kitchen table while she spoke. "But I guess pets are always cuter when they're little, right?"  
Emilia turned away, busying herself with the wine glasses. This wasn't a conversation that she wanted to be involved in.

"Raven, I don't know what's gotten into you lately." Charles joined Raven, taking a seat opposite her. "I thought you'd be in a good mood. Hank, he tells me that he's found the answer to your cosmetic problem." From the corner of her eye, Emilia saw Raven's eyes fall slightly. "Are you gonna tell me what's the matter or do I have to read your mind?"  
"You promised me you would never do that." Raven instantly replied with a slight edge to her words.  
"Until recently, I never had to use my power to know what you were thinking, Raven."

Emilia took this as her point to leave. She went to pass both of them until Raven saw something catch her eye.  
"You're engaged?" She focused on the ring as Emilia stopped. Charles held Emilia's hand and gave it a tight squeeze.  
"Yes, just over an hour ago actually." She answered.  
"When were you going to say?"  
"Tomorrow maybe?" Charles did not hide his frown from Raven.  
"You could at least act a little bit happy for us." Raven did not reply to her brother, instead, her eyes went straight to Emilia's.

"Does he know?" Emilia stayed quiet but she could feel her eyes bulge at the question.  
"Know what?" Charles asked.  
"You haven't told him then?" She gripped tighter onto the wine glass.  
"Told me what? Charles looked up. "Emilia?"

_Lie. You've done it before. _Two sets of eyes were on her. One blue and one yellow. One confused and one daring her to speak.

"I didn't take the injection from Hank earlier. I didn't want to risk it before tomorrow." Technically, it wasn't a lie. But it was the exact opposite to what Raven had been hinting at. What she had said was new information to Raven as well as Charles.

"I don't understand," Charles puzzled. "Raven, why do you want me to know that?" Raven leaned forward, an angry tone to her voice.  
"Charles, I used to think it was going to be you and me against the world. But no matter how bad the world gets, you don't want to be against it, do you? You want to be a part of it." With that she pushed herself up from the table and left them alone again.

"I don't think I will ever understand her." Charles sighed. Emilia stared after where Raven had just left.  
"No one will," she replied. "it's Raven." As she turned to move back to the kitchen, Charles gently put his hand atop her arm to stop her.  
"You do know that you can tell me anything... don't you?" She cracked as her smile faltered for just one measly second. It was in that second that she knew that he knew that she was lying. He did not mention anything, although his eyes betrayed him just as Emilia's did for her.

"Of course I do." She then carried on. "You forgot the corkscrew by the way."

She didn't know what was her bigger problem, her missing sister or her growing baby bump.

-o-

Later on, when the night sky had turned dark and the building was deathly still, Emilia shot out of bed. It took her a moment to adjust as the details of her bedroom came into focus. She kicked the tangled sheets off of her and sat on the edge of the bed as she tried to control her breathing. '_It was just a dream' _she told herself. But it had felt so real.

The dream, or nightmare, had been in Hanks lab. Well, it seemed like it was there. She would have not recognised it if she hadn't seen the familiar white coat he normally wore flung across the room. Why had it been flung? And why was it ripped to shreds? There was a reason she knew there was one. She sighed as she wiped her brow, her hand became damp from the sweat. The clock on the nightstand told her it had just gone past three in the morning. It hadn't been that late in the dream, she knew it hadn't.

_'The last time you dreamed like that was when Darwin and Black Suit were killed.' _She had dreamed of them dying and they had. She had done nothing. If the one she had just went through was real, then she had the right to check on Hank. Grabbing her dressing gown and a flashlight, she made her way out of the room and down the halls.

_'You turn left first,' _she told herself _'go down the stairs on your right and when you reach the bottom turn right again.' _In the dark everything seemed unfamiliar. The flashlight had begun to flicker as Emilia rounded the corner. "Not right now." She mumbled and hit her palm against it. The light came back as she carried on.

_CREEEEEEAK._

She froze. Her heart jumped into her throat. Too terrified to move, too terrified to even speak, she stayed planted in her spot. _'It's the dark, it's playing tricks on you' _she bit down hard on her lip, she hoped it was only that. She picked up the pace and carried on.

One more corner, one more and she'd know if it was just a dream or not. As she turned, she noticed that at the end of the dark corridor the wooden doors to the lab were shut. She hurried to the doors and reached out for the handle. Emilia opened the door a couple of inches, just enough for her to peek through.  
"Hank?" She whispered. The door was opened wider when she got no response. "Hank, are you in there?" She poked the light through to get a better look. It was as if a storm had swept through. Tables were overthrown, paper was scattered all over the places and shards of glass lay on the ground. "Oh my god." The words escaped her mouth the minute she took a step into the room to view the wreck. Blueprints were ripped apart, one of the machines were torn in half and even some tables had hideous dents.

_It's just like my dream. _"Hank!" She called out louder than before. The only source of light she had began to flicker again until it gave out and left her in a pool of darkness. She repeatedly began to hit it, praying it would flicker back on. _Don't do this to me, not right now. _It took five more hits until it came back to life. Her fortune was ill-timed however as she then heard a low grunt come from behind her. She whipped around and pointed the torch directly where the noise came from.

She didn't have anytime to gasp let alone scream as she saw the sight in front of her. The light shone on a set of razor sharp fangs, the mouth they belonged was curled back into a animalistic snarl. She watched in horror as the beast like creature in front of her raised its huge paw high into the air, its claws like tiny daggers. The flashlight tumbled from her hands and smashed against the ground flooding them in darkness as its paw came crashing down.

Only then did Emilia scream.

* * *

_'Surprise bitch! Did you miss me?' - _how i feel right now (thanks ahs!).

_I apologise if there are any mistakes in this chapter, I just wanted to upload it because it has been bothering me for the last two weeks and I can never seem to be happy with it. I'll probably edit __tomorrow_

I'm sorry that this chapter took forever to upload, I've had so many problems with ff not saving my work (grr)! I just gave up writing and I just haven't been in a good place lately (and I also wanted to focus on editing rather than uploading). I also can never feel happy with this chapter, i don't know why. It just feels boring to me... but hey, another cliffhanger! Those are horrible aren't they? Sorry guys!

**EXPECT ANGST NEXT CHAPTER OMG!**

Hope you enjoyed! FOLLOW MY FANFICTION ACCOUNT ON TUMBLR, LINK SHOULD BE ON PROFILE! I upload edits and stuff for the characters :)

**THANK YOU TO THE VERY RECENT GUEST REVIEW I HAD A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO!** IT DEFINITELY CHEERED ME UP AND GAVE ME THE MOTIVATION TO SIT DOWN AND WRITE. Somehow it's not showing on the website but I got the email saying it so thank you!x

Thanks to everyones reviews, faves and follows! They mean so much!


	14. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

**Chapter 14 - A Little Party Never Killed Nobody**

**'I will love you if I never see you again,**  
**and I will love you if I see you every Tuesday.'**

Lemony Snicket, _The Beatrice Letters_

* * *

She winced again as the needle did one of its final pushes.  
Julien bit down on his tongue, his eyes glued to the stitching process in deep concentration. Her eyes threatened to spill over a river of tears throughout the entire ordeal. Emilia had somehow managed to hold it together so far, she could handle a few more.

"This is the last one." He declared. Relief washed over, but, at the feeling of it entering her skin again, she couldn't stop a lone tear from escaping. Her hand automatically raised to wipe it away. Then another one came, then another and one more before she let them fall freely. As he finished off the deed he noticed her sniffles and gave a sympathetic smile. "Hurt like a bitch, don't they?" He said in an attempt to save her dignity. "First time I had them I couldn't stop howling, my mom wasn't good with needles."  
"How'd you get so good then?" She dared to ask as he went to grab bandages.  
"I grew up with four sisters." He swiftly changed the conversation as he came back. "So, do you want to talk about what happened?"

The memory of the claw was still fresh in her mind. _I hurt_, she thought to herself, _I hurt all over_. The paw had just missed her face leaving a small nick on her chin. The left side of her chest however hadn't been as lucky. She refused to look down, afraid of what she'd see. Julien had come running in the moment she hit the ground. She wasn't sure what happened after that, she had been panicking over the amount of blood that was staining her hands.

"You know it was Hank, right?" He asked when she didn't reply.  
"Yeah," She said, her eyes falling on the ripped lab coat across the room. "I know."  
"He feels guilty as hell."  
"I forgive him." The words fell easy from her mouth. As he went to place the bandage over the stitches, he gave a questioning look.  
"Want to see them, before I wrap them up?" She hesitated before glancing down.  
"They're ugly," Was her first response as swollen bloody pink skin glared up at her through black stitches. He rolled his eyes at her comment.  
"They'll get prettier."

They stayed in silence as he covered them up. When he was done he brought her dressing gown to her.  
"Might want to put this on if someone walks in." Her nightdress was ruined, the left side ripped from Hanks claw and blood stained the edges. The silk gown clung to her body once she put it on and found herself smoothing the softness.  
"What time is it?"  
"Four-thirty, I think we leave at eight." That was the last thing he said before excusing himself. After he left, Adrienne came in. Emilia could tell that she had just woken up from her messy bed hair and slightly rumpled clothes. For once, she was not carrying her child.

"Where's Maisie?" Emilia asked. A cup of coffee was held tightly in Adrienne's hands, she leaned against the table opposite her.  
"Sleeping." Her eyes nearly drooped closed before she jumped and took a quick sip out of her cup.  
"Why aren't you?"  
"Your scream woke me up."  
"Was it that loud?" Guilt made its way to her as she noticed the bags under Adrienne's eyes.  
"We're down the hall, luckily everyone else is two floors up." She took another sip, sighed and carried on. "That Alex kid heard though, I told him it was Maisie crying. Poor kid was too tired to even question it." Steam rose from the cup and swirled around in front of Adrienne's face as she held it close. It simmered her into a dream as she stayed silent. It wasn't until Adrienne finished her drink did they speak again.

"Are you going today?"  
"I wouldn't miss it." Emilia replied. "Are you?"  
"Yes, we're hiring a babysitter for Maisie."  
"You trust them?"  
"What other choice do I have?"  
"You could stay."  
"So could you."  
"I'm too stubborn to not go."  
"It's like we're the same person. Except, I'm the legs and you're the hair of the group." Emilia chuckled and tucked a strand of a blonde highlight behind her ear.

"It's five o'clock, we've got three hours to burn." Adrienne declared half an hour later.  
"Hanks made us outfits," Emilia searched across the room. "They might be in the box other there." They made their way over, Adrienne leading the way. They pulled the lid up together and stared at what was in front of them.  
"Damn," Adrienne held one of the outfits up with a smirk. "I was hoping for latex."

"They have tags on them, this one's yours." Adrienne held out a yellow and black suit towards her. She eyed the bandage peeking out of Emilia's clothes. "Need help changing?" A small blush tinted Emilia's cheeks.  
"I think I'll be fine thank you."

They changed in the same room. The only privacy they had was their backs turned away from each other. Goosebumps broke out on her skin as the cool air hit her, causing her to gasp as her right leg stepped into the suit first. Then her left leg went in and she shimmied the rest up to her waist. So far, it seemed to be going great. Hank had noted her short physique and had made sure that her legs were well protected.

Her arms slid in effortlessly, all that was needed was to zip it up. She held the metal between her finger and thumb then let it glide smoothly up her body. She smiled in relief at the lack of struggle. Then her hand stopped. The zip had halted underneath her breasts. Emilia frowned and attempted to pull it gently up again. It refused to budge. Everything had fitted as smoothly as a glove, _maybe Hank forgot to measure there? _No, she remembered laughing with Charles at Hanks red cheeks as he clumsily measured her bustline and quickly wrote the inches down.

Then, out of nowhere she remembered her mother once telling her many, many, years ago about how she had gone up two cup sizes whilst carrying Emilia. _Oh no, _she thought as she desperately yanked the zipper_, oh God not today. _On the fifth time, she yanked her hand up with so much force that she ended letting go of the zip and hitting herself in the face.

She cursed underneath her breath as she felt Adrienne move over to her.  
"Need help?" She nodded in response and Adrienne came straight away. Eventually, after numerous attempts, the zip managed to make its way up to her neck. "You forgot your gloves," Adrienne held out a black pair towards her. They went straight on after she put on the boots they were made to wear.

Julien came back in with a mountain of toast, threatening to spill over.  
"How many of us do you think there are?" Adrienne asked as she grabbed a slice.  
"I thought that maybe Hank would want some as well." Both of their eyes went to Emilia as her teeth sunk into the buttered slice. She kept her head down, avoiding their gaze and kept on eating. They continued to talk, speaking of the weather, jam and anything but what would happen in a couple hours time.

There were three slices left. Julien was putting on his own boots when he looked up at Emilia.  
"You should take them to Hank."  
"I don't think he'd want cold toast."  
"It's the thought that counts." Adrienne added. Julien checked his watch and then nudged Adrienne softly.  
"The babysitter should be here now," he gave a pointed look to Emilia. "Go and check on him." They watched her leave, making sure she was going the way she needed to go.

He was outside, leaning against the wall. The early morning sun shone down on his fur, giving him an almost mythical look. He wore the same glasses he wore everyday, which made her smile more than it should have. She slid down down the wall next to him.  
"I'm sorry it's cold." She held the plate out to him, he refused to look her way. "I know it's not much and that it's cold but you need to eat something."  
"I'm not hungry." She noticed that she was staring and tore her eyes away from her friend.

"I don't know what to say." She said after a while of listening to the birds chirp and sing. "I'm sorry for walking in, I shouldn't have got in the way."  
"You didn't know, you couldn't have known." He kept his head down in shame. "It's me who should be apologising to you."  
"You've done enough of that today." Her hand reached out and rested on top of his suit. Unlike hers, the arms of Hanks suit was cut off above the elbows and she wondered if that had been because of some last minute adjustments. "I forgive you." He shook her hand off.  
"We should head to the airbase."

She frowned but said nothing as she grabbed the untouched plate and followed him back inside. They decided to drive to the airbase together, Emilia behind the wheel and Hank in the passenger seat. The drive was silent apart from Hank telling Emilia where to go. When they got to the base she helped him sort out first aid boxes and made sure that they had all the supplies they needed until she heard their friend's thoughts.

"They're here," She said as she strained to hear parts of their conversations. She noticed him shift uncomfortably. "You ready?" He sighed in response, readjusted his glasses and gave a less than happy nod.

"Where's Hank and Emilia?" They heard Raven ask. She stayed behind him, keeping a small distance as they walked out to the others.  
"We're here." Hank replied.  
"Hank?" Charles asked.

"It didn't attack the cells, it enhanced them." His head fell in disappointment as he explained. It didn't work."  
"Yes, it did, Hank." He looked up to find the other blue mutant in the room. "Don't you see? This is who you were meant to be." Ravens natural blue hand reached out and caressed his cheek. "This is you. No more hiding."

The exchange was sweet and Emilia dared to let her eyes find Charles.  
_"You alright?" _Charles asked silently._  
"Never better."_ She replied. The moment was ruined when Erik decided to open his mouth.

"You never looked better, man." Hanks paw reached out and wrapped itself tight around Erik's throat.  
"Don't mock me!" He growled. Emilia jumped to his side and held onto his arm.  
"Hank," Charles called out. "Put him down immediately, please."

Eventually, Hank loosened his grip and Erik hit the ground hard.  
"I wasn't." Erik finally said when he gained his breath back.  
"Even I got to admit you look pretty badass." Emilia raised her eyebrows at Alex, surprised that he was actually complimenting Hank. "I think I got a new name for you. Beast." Hank stared at him for a few seconds, unsure if he was being mocked again or not.  
"It suits you." Emilia spoke up and gave a small smile to her friend. She let go of his arm and joined Adrienne and Julien.

"You're sure you can fly this thing?" Sean asked.  
"Of course I can, I designed it." They began to walk towards the aircraft and Emilia noticed that Sean stayed glued to the spot.  
"Hanks a genius, try not to worry." They were at the back of the group as everyone filled into their friends creation.  
"Yeah, but does that mean he can actually fly it?" Emilia gave him a long glance.  
"What part of _'Hanks a genius'_ don't you get?" He sighed and flopped down onto the seat next to Raven.

"How are those bandages holding up?" Julien sat opposite Sean and Adrienne was right beside him.  
"Sorry what?" They both turned to find Charles behind them.  
"She had a miscommunication with Beast earlier. But don't worry, I came to her rescue." Charles' eyes flew to hers and searched her up and down for any visible injuries.  
"Were you going to tell me?"  
"It's not as if I had any time too." His hands reached out and held onto her hips.  
"You're alright though, yes?" Her hands also reached out, but went to his chest instead.  
"Now I am." Sean made a gagging sound while both Raven and Erik rolled their eyes at her words. Emilia blushed scarlet red. He pressed a kiss against her head.  
"Try to stay out of trouble." She nodded before going to sit down.

She sat in-between Alex and Julien, hoping to God that she wouldn't throw up. She strapped herself in extra tight and held her breath as Hank began to take off. It was easier when they got into the air. Half hour into the flight the plane swerved abruptly to the side, each person on her row hit their heads against the wall. As she cradled her head, a familiar pain came to the centre of her forehead.  
"You alright?" Julien asked when he noticed her rubbing where it ached.  
"Headache," she answered, knowing that a vision would be coming to her soon.

It soon went quiet and she closed her eyes, trying to focus on what was coming through. She felt a pair of eyes on her and opened her own to find Raven staring directly at her.

_"Have you told him?" _She turned away knowing the reaction she'd get._  
"No," _She felt Raven's yellow eyes narrow down at her_. "But I will." _She promised._  
"You haven't got much time." _She went still for a few seconds, evaluating her options. What was the worst that could happen when they were heading out to stop 'World War Three' from happening? _Telling your loved one that you're putting their unborn child at risk without their consent, _a voice said.

_"I'll do it now."_ Raven's eyes widened and watched Emilia's next steps closely.

Alex noticed her taking a deep breath.  
"You scared?" He whispered to her.  
"What?" She put a brave façade on. "No, of course not!"  
"Not even a little nervous?" _Not for what you're nervous for._  
"Nope." An ache in her chest grew tighter.  
"You sure? Cause you look like you might puke."  
"Now that you mention it." Emilia felt a certain sensation in her stomach as the jet lurched again to the side.  
"No don't you dare," Alex pushed himself as far as possible away from her. "If you puke then I'll puke and I don't see a bucket on this thing." She ignored him and leaned forward to get closer to Charles.

"Can we talk?" She asked. As he opened his mouth to answer, Alex interrupted them.  
"I think she might puke."  
"She's not going to puke." Raven insisted.  
"I don't know dude, she looks like she's going to puke." Sean joined in.  
"Can we refrain from throwing up at the moment?" They all heard Moira call out. "We'll be landing shortly." Sean shook his head.  
"I don't think she's gonna be able to hold it in," he called back. He turned to Erik who sat across from him. "Chicks usually have a weak stomach. This one time I took this girl on a rollercoaster and when we got to the top she completely-" He froze at Erik's dumbfounded look. "You don't care do you?" Adrienne groaned.  
"You've got to be kidding me."  
"I'm not going to be sick," they all stopped talking about her throwing up and somehow settled back to how they were before. "We need to talk… in private." She added after noticing the others listening in. Charles raised two fingers to the side of his head.

_"Is this private enough?" _She nodded, slightly disappointed that she couldn't speak to him aloud. She went silent, not knowing where to start. _"Is something wrong?"_ She couldn't stop it from blurting out.  
_"I'm pregnant."_ The fingers he raised dropped and the expression he wore became unreadable. She was waiting for the next questions: '_Are you serious? Are you alright? Are you really sure?'_

They never came. He said nothing but let his eyes fall to her abdomen.  
_"Say something, please."_ His eyes eventually found hers.  
_"How far along are you?"_ His question took her off guard.  
_"I don't know exactly, two or three months?"_  
_"And how long have you known?" _She swallowed as she knew what was going to come next.  
_"Couple weeks, maybe a month?"  
"A month?" _He replied in shock.  
_"I didn't know what to do, I was scared!"  
"Of what?"  
"Of you not wanting it."_ _And of you leaving me, _she wanted to add.  
_"You knew, and yet you still decided to come today?"  
"I couldn't just not go, Charles, my sister could be there with Shaw. I can't-"_ He cut her off.  
_"So you put our child in danger?"  
"Charles you don't under-"  
"Don't." _Was all he said and then she only heard silence. He'd blocked her from his mind. Her mouth fell open in shock and it stayed like that while she couldn't take her eyes off him. He refused to look her in the eye. She felt her face flush red and a lump came into her throat. She finally looked away when she felt her eyes begin to burn.

"Close your mouth you might catch flies." Julien smiled at his joke but Emilia did not move a muscle. He noticed the tears building up. "Hey, you alright blondie?" Julien asked, the nickname became common the moment he recognised the white streaks in her hair.  
"I think I might throw up," She whispered.  
"Called it!" Sean shouted, thankfully, no one paid him attention.  
"You can puke into my boot if you really want," Julien offered. "But you're cleaning it afterwards."

A blinding pain seared her head as she felt something take over her sight. She saw a pile of dead bodies slain across a ship floor, a hand holding her gloved one and familiar blond hair. She gasped as everything came back into focus and found Julien on his knees in front of her.  
"What'd you see?" She wiped her brow and found she had already broken out a sweat.  
"One of the crews are dead. I don't know which one."

"Looks pretty messy out there." Hanks voice commented as they soared over the sea filled with ships below them. She watched as Charles raised two fingers to his head again, but this time not to communicate with her. It took him a few seconds to grimace and then carry on.

"The crew of the Aral Sea are all dead. Shaw's been there." Julien looked back at her.  
"Looks like you were right." He pushed himself up and held into one of the bars above him.  
"You should sit down, it's not safe to be standing while he's flying." Adrienne warned him.  
"Relax, a little party never killed nobody."  
"This isn't a party, this is a mission." Before she could hear what else was said, she heard herself cry out again as the reality before her disappeared once again. This time she saw Azazel, except he was on their jet and he was holding a gun.  
He was aiming it at Julien.

She found herself panting when she returned to reality. Her heart was beating fast as she tried to regain her breath.  
"Did you know your eyes roll into the back of your head when that happens?" Julien asked. "It's cool but sort of disgusting."  
"If that ship crosses the line, our boys are going to blow it up and the war begins." She heard Moira tell Charles as she unbuckled her belt.  
"Unless they're not our boys."

"What're you doing?" Someone asked. It was then she heard the same noise that seemed to haunt her since that night at the CIA facility. She whipped around to find the exact same person she had seen only seconds before.

"No!" She screeched as she dived towards Julien, taking him down onto the floor with her. She heard a shot fired and a couple of screams filled the air. Emilia looked up in time to see Azazel mutter then slam one of the buttons on the wall. He was gone before anyone could do anything and all that was left was a growing clanking noise underneath them.

"You guys need to get off of the floor now." Hank called out to both of them. Julien pulled her up with him and then pushed her down to her seat.  
"You alright?" Charles asked. Although she was slightly shaken, she managed to nod. Charles raised two fingers to his head again as Emilia and Julien rushed to do their seatbelts.

"Why'd he come here?" Erik asked.  
"To kill Julien." Emilia replied.  
"Why'd he want him?"  
"Shaw wants him dead, he's getting Azazel to finish the job." Adrienne held on tight to Julien's hand.  
"I'm not on the best terms with my old boss." The blond explained.

The cranking noise below got louder and they looked down to see a part of the floor opening up beneath.

"It won't open up fast, try to not worry." Hank assured them. Then, an almighty roar ruptured from below them. A repeated beeping came from the front of the jet and Emilia realised in horror that it was signalling that a missile was coming straight for them. Hank span the vessel upside down to avoid them getting hit. Emilia couldn't help but cry out and latch onto both Julien and Alex's hands as the world seemed to spin before her eyes.

She heard Charles shouting for everyone to hold on and then a huge growl came from Hank. Both she and Raven's cries were finished when they came to halt and no longer span. Then, a huge boom came from below and they all jumped at the sudden noise. Hank looked back over his shoulder to Charles.  
"A little warning next time, Professor." Emilia raised her eyebrows in confusion, not understanding what was going on.  
"Sorry about that," He looked across to Raven and Sean. "You all right?" Both Emilia and Julien chuckled at Sean's expression as he gasped out a "Yeah."

"Emilia, think you can close the floor?" Hank asked. She unbuckled her belt and held on tightly to the railing above as she shuffled around the open space to the panel where Azazel had last been.  
"What button do I press?"  
"Should be the flashing green one." She stared blankly at the mess of flashing lights in front of her.  
"Which one?" She heard a mumbling and an unbuckling of a belt.  
"Is it the one next to the red or blue?" She heard Julien call out from behind her.  
"The blue." Julien never got to reach out for the switch. They heard a familiar noise come from behind them and both turned to find their uninvited guest. Before they could cry out for help, she felt a hard force collide with her chest and she begun to stumble backwards.

"Emilia, what are you- _Emilia no_!" But it was too late, both she and Julien had stumbled back too far. She fell out backwards, arms outstretched and a scream caught in her throat. Julien tumbled out after her and Azazel disappeared once more.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, college sucks. Next chapter should be up soon.**

So what do we think? You guys mad that there's another cliff hanger? What do you think about Charles' reaction to the baby?

_(Sorry if there's not enough angst ah)_

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed recently, they always make my day and encourage me to write more! We're only two/three chapters away from DOFP! Thanks to everyone who has followed/faved as well!


	15. Americans, Soviets, Humans

**Chapter 15 - Americans, Soviets, humans. **

**'Please don't expect me to always be good and kind and loving. **  
**There are times when I will be cold and thoughtless and hard to understand.'**

Silvia Plath

* * *

She went down staring up at the jet watching it become smaller and smaller as she plummeted further and further away. Her arms waved around wildly in the air and for some reason her legs began automatically kicking. She closed her eyes and wished for it all to be a bad dream. She wished for it all to end.

When she next opened her eyes, she was underwater.

The saltwater burned instantly and filled her mouth to the brim. Her feet began to kick themselves towards the surface she couldn't see. Her hand broke free and she found herself bursting out of the water. She spat the water out and her breathing became deep and desperate. Her body stung from the impact of her fall. The suit she wore became heavier by the second and she felt it weighing her down, it had not been designed for water. She saw the jet above her and swore that she saw some heads sticking out, searching to see if she had survived. As she went to raise her arm to wave, she realised Julien hadn't come back up.

"Julien?" She called out. Emilia looked behind her and found no one. "Julien?" She began to frantically spin, searching for where he could have emerged. "Julien?" Her voice became panicky as there were no signs of him at all. She coughed and sputtered as a wave of water crashed against her, then, she heard a series of gasps and coughs come from behind her.

"I thought you were dead!" Her hands and legs worked furiously to keep her afloat.  
"Sorry to disappoint." Julien's natural curls had been flattened by the water and covered his face. "We're going to sink in these suits if we don't get out fast." She found shore behind them. She grabbed hold of him and pictured the sandy beach in her mind. She gasped as a tingling sensation went through her. Then, they were a couple of metres ahead but still in water. "This is going to take a while, isn't it?" He asked. She nodded and already felt slightly drained.

It took her four more journeys before they finally reached land. Both collapsed onto the shore in exhaustion. She landed face first and groaned as the tiredness began to seep through her bones. She resembled a starfish with her legs and arms spread wide. Eventually, she rolled onto her back and flinched as the sun shone brightly down on them. She could feel the suit she wore begin to dry and hoped it would hurry up as she couldn't deal with the uncomfortableness. She tried to run a hand through her hair but it stopped as it reached her shoulder. The wind had caused the hair tie she put in to fall out and had now become matted. The seawater had not helped it as well. She took both of her boots off and tipped what seemed to be a bucket full of water out of them.

"That's them," she heard Julien say. "Look, they're up there." She looked to where he pointed and found the jet above them. Then, a strange sound came from beneath the water. They got up onto their feet and noticed the surface began to ripple. She took a step forward but felt Julien pull her back immediately as violent waves came rushing through. They both saw something metallic underneath, then, an almighty crash came from the water and uprose a submarine from the depths of the sea.

"What the hell?" Julien's mouth hung wide open in shock but a smile came to Emilia's face.  
"It's Erik." She grinned as she pointed to the figure hanging out of the jet. "Erik's doing this, that's Shaw's sub." Her joy wasn't long lasted. The submarine came closer and closer to them and they found themselves running. They dashed towards the palm trees and held their breath as it crashed onto the sand. It stopped a couple of metres in front of them. They stayed still, wondering if anyone was going to come out.

"You think it's safe?" She asked.  
"I don't know." He replied before he took a step forward. "That door's open." They assumed that it had been torn off when it hit land and took another couple of steps towards it.  
"My sister might be in there."  
"What?"  
"My sister, I saw her in there before," she explained. "She was in there and I saw Shaw." She made her decision and picked up the pace to reach the door.

"Emilia, wait." He grabbed her arm and spun her around. "You don't know who or what is in there."  
"She's my sister, she needs me." She struggled against him as his grip became harder on the damp suit.  
"What if it's a trick?" She stopped. His violet eyes were filled with concern, which surprised her as she didn't think that he cared.  
"That's a risk I'm willing to take." He let go of her arm and she rushed over to the door, her feet sinking into the sand.  
"What if it's suicide?" He called after her. She didn't answer. Instead she motioned for him to help lift her up to the door. He turned his hand into a cradle and lifted her up by her feet. When she was in she turned around and noticed that he was watching the jet above them.  
"You're not coming with me, are you?" He gave an apologetic look.  
"I'll tell the others were you went and then we'll come for you."  
"And my sister," she added.  
"Right."

She gave a final nod and began to make her way through Shaw's place. The hallway she walked through was small and unfamiliar, she looked down and found that her boots were leaving wet patches beneath her. She turned into a big room where everything was trashed, a tv had fallen off its stand, tables were overturned and a bottle was tipped, leaving a red stain on the cream carpet.

She marched forwards to a door opposite and when she opened it she slammed straight into someone. Her first response was to try to not burst into tears, for now that she'd been discovered there was no chance of rescuing her sister. She began to panic and then met the eyes of the person who'd take her to Shaw.  
"Erik?" Her eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"  
"We had a plan, remember?" He held on tight to her. "Are you alright?"  
"I'm fine." There was a pause in the conversation before he began to speak again.  
"Stop asking if she's alright, she said she was fine." For a minute she thought he'd gone mad from the heat and had began speaking to himself. Then she realised that Charles was in his mind. She looked down and saw that their bodies were still close together. She gave a meek cough to remind him, and Charles, of what they were here for. They separated quickly and she followed him into the other room.

"This is the last room," he told her. "I checked all of them and he's not here." She watched silently as he began to slowly panic, then she started to aswell. He had to be here somewhere, she knew he did. She began to search the room, looking for a secret button that lead to somewhere as Erik began to shout at Charles. As she moved onto the next corner she realised she was being stupid and that men like Shaw wouldn't have secret buttons around.

Something red caught the corner of her eye. She kneeled down to get a closer look. A lock of ginger hair. Then, she looked up to find the wall behind Erik open up, Shaw stood there with the helmet he wore when they first met and her sister, on her knees. She slowly got back to her feet and noticed that her sister's mouth was gagged and her wrists tied.  
She also noticed the gun Shaw held to Bonnie's head.

_'He wants you to kill your friend,'_ Bonnie's thoughts were loud and clear. _'Or he'll kill me.'_

Erik only then noticed her unnatural stillness. He began to turn around to where her sister was and then she made her decision.

"Erik, wait!" She rushed to him and her hand reached up to hold his cheek. His eyes flew to hers, startled by her sudden display of emotion.  
"What's wrong?" _'I'm sorry Charles.'  
_She held his face with both hands, making sure that he wouldn't turn around to face Shaw. Then her lips smashed against his. He didn't react. He stayed still for a couple seconds, then he pulled her closer. His hands grabbed hold of her and brought her tight against him. His right hand wandered up her back while her hand slowly lifted into the air, signalling their shared mutation to come to life.

The metal pipe that lay across from them slammed into his head. He fell down onto his knees and looked up in confusion. Then it hit him again, except, this time he doesn't open his eyes. She held the pipe tight in her hand as he sank to the ground.

"Emilia," Shaw wore a pleased smile. "You put on quite a show."  
"I want my sister." She felt drawn to Bonnie's trembling body and automatically felt herself step over Erik's.  
"But, you didn't kill him."  
"Take me instead," she begged, changing the topic. "I'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt her."  
"Why would I do that?"  
"Because she's my family and I saw you hurt her-"  
"Family means nothing to me and I didn't hurt her." Her eyebrows raised at his words.  
"No, I saw what you did to her."  
"You only saw what I wanted you to see," he smirked at her surprise. "Did you really think I was that ruthless?"  
"No, I know you're that ruthless."  
"Did Erik tell you about his mother?"  
"Yes."  
"Then maybe you've learnt from his mistakes?" He grabbed a fistful of her sister's hair and repositioned the gun to the back of her head. Emilia squeezed the pipe between her hands. "I'm going to count to three and you're going to kill Erik. If you don't, I'll pull the trigger."

Her mouth opened to argue but no words came out. She was stuck there, frozen, watching as Shaw made a game out of her sister's life. Tears began to sting her eyes as she realised that she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill him. _I'm sorry,_ she wanted to choke out to her sister_, I'm sorry I'm not strong enough. _She thought of stealing the gun off him, but she was too scared of what he'd do to Bonnie if she wasn't fast enough. She wasn't brave enough like Erik to try to take the gun and she wasn't smart enough to think of what to do like Charles.  
"One."  
She could feel her heart beating so loud.  
"Two."  
Emilia charged towards Shaw as a last attempt.  
"Three."  
However, before she took two steps, someone's arms wrapped themselves around her.  
"What are you doing? Let me go!"

**Bang! **A scream came from her throat after Shaw pulled the trigger. She tore away from them to reach her sister but then stopped in confusion. Her sister was still kneeling on the floor in the exact spot she was moments ago. The bullet did not hit her. She turned back around to face Erik who had his arm outstretched towards the gun. She then faced her sister and saw that the bullet was only centimetres away from her head.

"Erik, what a pleasant surprise..." Shaw dropped the gun across the room and took a couple steps back into the small room he had first been in. Bonnie, realising she had a chance to escape, scampered over to her sister. Emilia quickly undid the rope around her wrists and took what they used to gag her out of her mouth. After that, she held her sister close and attempted to calm her down. "So good to see you again." She watched silently as Erik followed in a trancelike state after Shaw. The bullet fell to the ground as the doors closed behind them.

"He forgot to take the gun." Bonnie noted as she stared at the weapon.  
"Come on." Emilia took her sister by the hand and dragged her out of the room, They ran back the way Emilia had came and helped each other jump out of the door onto the beach. She soon spotted a crashed Jet and ran even faster towards it.  
"He's gone." She found Moira and Charles inside.  
"What?"  
"He's gone into the void! I can't communicate with him there." She chose that moment to reveal herself.

"It's alright, I'm back! I'm fine," she then pointed to her sister. "She's fine, we're fine." She then stopped. "Apart from Erik, who followed Shaw into that room, I don't think he's fine." She then beamed and pulled her sister forward. "This is my sister Bonnie, Bonnie say hi," her sister mumbled out a 'hello' as she noticed their unimpressed expressions towards Emilia. "Erik saved her, you should have seen him it was unbelievable-" Emilia noticed Charles' look. "What did I do?" Then she realised, the kiss. "It meant nothing," she went down on her knees beside him. "I only did it to distract Shaw so I could save Bonnie without Erik being hurt."  
"Without him being hurt? You knocked him out."  
"But he got up and he's fine now!" She reached out and held onto his arm. "Look, it was the first thing that came to mind and I know you would have done the same for Raven."

"You could have at least warned me of what was going to happen, or that you were even going in there," he ran a hand through his hair. "Christ, Emilia you should have told me you were going in there. You could have been hurt, the baby could have-" he stopped with a sigh but she knew what he was going to say. She grabbed his hand and put it on top of her abdomen.  
"But the baby's fine, I'm fine." She realised that it was probably the first time she referred to the subject as a baby out loud, rather than calling it _'it'_.

"You and Erik had a plan to murder Shaw." She gave a gentle squeeze to his hand atop hers and then smiled softly.  
"It's in the past now, it doesn't matter." He didn't buy into it.  
"You choose not to tell me." Her smile faded as she realised that he wasn't going to let it go.  
"You didn't need to carry a burden like that." His arm pulled away from her.  
"If you make choices as serious as that alone, then how can I trust you?" Her head lowered as she found that she couldn't look him in the eye.  
"You can't."

Before he could react, his hand was at his head again.  
"He's back!" Emilia got up and shuffled away back to the opening of the Jet.  
"Baby?" Her sister's voice raised an octave. "What baby?" She waved her off, not wanting another discussion.  
"Stay here." She told her as she noticed Adrienne running towards them.

"I can't find Julien." Her eyes darted across the beach.  
"What do you mean?" She asked as she tried to follow Adrienne's eyes.  
"He's gone, I haven't seen him since you both fell."  
"I'll find him for you," Emilia promised, mostly from the guilt she felt for leaving him earlier. "Just, look after my sister."

She left before Adrienne could stop her. Her feet sank into the sand as she ran further and further. She ran for a while, ignoring the stitch that made its way into her side. After searching for what felt like ten minutes, she realised that she was far away from the others. Biting down hard on her lip, she considered giving up. Something flashed in front of her and she found herself yelping as she collided into someone once again. Julien grabbed her arm and dragged her with him as he began to run.

"Why are we running?"  
"We're running from him!"  
"Who?" A shot sounded in the air and they sprinted faster. She glanced behind her to find a man dressed in black wielding a gun. "Why?"  
"Shaw hired him to kill me," he explained between breaths. "I guess he's still not happy that I quit."

They were nearly halfway back when Emilia began to lag behind. While she protested and promised that she could keep going, Julien made them stop so she could catch her breath.  
"I can't see him." There was no sign of the assassin, she wondered if he too had a mutation.  
"Maybe he gave up?" She was hunched over, hands on knees gasping for air. Then they heard someone yelling and her stomach dropped when she recognised the voice instantly.  
"That's Charles," she began to sprint towards the noise. "We've got to go back."  
"Emilia, wait-" As Julien went to reach his hand out, they heard three more shots.

Immediately, Julien cried out in pain. Emilia found him hunched over holding his right hand. She quickly grabbed hold of him and teleported them out of there. She moved them three times until she knew that they weren't in aim of the strangers gun. Once she made sure that they were safe, she turned back to him.  
"Let me see," He ignored her and continued to groan. "Let me see!" She grabbed his hand and removed his left to find only two fingers and one thumb remaining. There were two bloody stumps where his fingers were supposed to be and through the crimson rushing out she swore she could see bone. A familiar taste came to her mouth as she stepped back. Bile rose and she threw her breakfast up onto the sand. She gasped for breath and groaned as she felt herself begin to heave again. This time she felt someone poorly hold her hair back. After her stomach was emptied she turned to find Julien's left hand holding her hair.

"I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around." He would have made a sarcastic comment but instead he grimaced and kept his right hand, or what remained of it, close. She needed to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but there was no material to use for it. The suits Hank had made were basically indestructible to her, there was no point trying to do anything with them. She grabbed him and held tight.

"Come on," she led him forward, knowing she didn't have the strength in her to teleport. "Let's go."

-o-

Adrienne had always considered herself slightly above average. One thing she had always been proud of was her height, she stood taller than every woman she had ever met yet she remained just a couple inches smaller than her husband, and that was without heels.

But this? This was ridiculous.  
Bonnie Jones was just like her sister. The exact same smile, same lips, same everything. Including the same height.  
Well, she was one or two inches taller than her elder sister but both siblings somehow managed to be the shortest out of everyone here. Adrienne felt like a giant standing next to her, the small heel on the boots they were made to wear caused her to be even taller, making Bonnie only come up to her shoulder.

The red head stayed close to her and was holding onto the first aid kit like it was her lifeline. Her eyebrows, which were exactly like Emilia's, were raised high as her wide eyes took in the chaos around her. _She's going to throw up, _Adrienne thought to herself as the younger went five shades paler at the sight of Azazel heading straight towards Hank and Alex. When Bonnie noticed she was watching her, she straightened her back and held her head high.

"When will my sister be back?" Her eyes flicked around the beach, never staying on one spot for more than a few seconds. The same bird Adrienne had wanted to throttle earlier was back, squawking above them as it watched the group fight.  
"I don't know." She replied to Bonnie as she tried to remember if her aim was any good, wondering what the chances were of her hitting that wretched bird down with just one shot.  
"What happened to your husband then?" Adrienne went silent. _What has happened to my husband? _She imagined a pool of blood and Emilia coming back with no Julien. _She promised, _she reminded herself_, she promised to bring him back.  
_"I don't know."

"Those gunshots earlier..." she bit her lip at Bonnie's voice.  
"They'll be back."

Bonnie's eyes found the back of Charles' head. He stood away from them, attempting to get back into Erik's head. Adrienne knew what Emilia had done, she had seen Charles' face fall and felt his heart break. Okay, maybe not break but he was upset, he might not show it but she could still feel it. Bonnie's eyes stayed on him.

"Are he and Emilia-" Adrienne sent a look that silenced her. Bonnie froze as she realised how loud she had spoken. She bent down next to the red head, ignoring Moira's weary glance.  
"Yeah, they are." The young girl's eyes filled with curiosity and her mouth opened to ask more.

Then a shot rang out of nowhere.

At first, Adrienne thought someone finally cracked and killed the blasted bird. But, like always, Moira and Charles shared a look of horror that didn't go unnoticed by both women in-between them. Adrienne and Bonnie shot out first, both searching for their missing and were then followed by the two others after dropping everything.

Emilia and Julien were in front of them. Her husband's hand was covered in a mass of blood, so was his hair and as was Emilia. She went to run to him but Moira held her back and only then did she realise he was screaming "Get down!" frantically at them.

Three shots rang out as they all went down. On the third shot Adrienne heard Emilia cry out and when she looked up Emilia was falling and Julien had gone down with her. She noticed the gunman behind the pair and a rage filled her. She grabbed Moira's gun out its holster and took aim.

With one shot he had fallen to the ground and the bird squawked once more.

-o-

_Oh my God_, she thought as her left cheek slammed the ground, _I've just been shot_. Julien laid on top of her, not moving. From the moment he had landed he had been still, almost too still. Neither of them moved a muscle. She was afraid that if she did then the pain would hurt even more. It burned her flesh and it seemed to slither all up her thigh. Her hand moved to hold the wound and winced at the feeling. Warmth oozed out into her palm.

Julien was lifted off her and her skin crawled as she felt a bit of small stump across the back of her neck, she was then rolled onto her back and was blinded by the sun. "They've both been shot!" Someone cried out. _No shit, _she wanted to reply. A hand went over hers and a soft voice began to speak.  
"Charles?" She asked when she recognised the voice. Her eyes squinted up at the figure beside her.  
"I'm here. Em' we're going to try stop the bleeding, okay?"  
"Okay." She grimaced when she felt more pressure being put on her thigh. "It hurts."  
"I know, I know it does but it's going to help and you're going to be alright." She watched as her sister wrapped dressing around her wound. Adrienne and Hank helped Julien as Bonnie dove in and out of the first aid kit.  
"We have to get them both to a hospital now." Charles begun helping her up at her sister's words. Both of them put Emilia's arms over their shoulders to help her walk.  
"I'll teleport them." Adrienne offered, her hands were now stained with Julien's blood.

"I won't leave you." Charles immediately frowned at her words and helped her limp towards the Jet. "I won't, not until this is over."  
"Your leg needs to be treated by professionals."  
"Hospitals don't like me," she argued as he rolled his eyes.  
"Neither will I if you don't stop."

They sat her down inside and her sister pressed down on her thigh to stop the bleeding. She gritted her teeth in pain and then noticed the look he gave her.  
"I'll go." She said quietly, giving up.  
"Adrienne will come back for you, she'll be five minutes at the latest." He planted a kiss on her head and left the sisters when Moira called for him.

"How are things back home?" Bonnie shrugged.  
"They're alright I guess," her eyes then brightened. "I'm training to become a nurse. How about you, how are things?"  
"I just got shot," was all she said and then it went silent.

Adrienne appeared in front of them five minutes later and went to help Emilia up.  
"You might feel a bit sick at first," she explained to Bonnie. "But it'll pass after a few minutes." Emilia closed her eyes and waited for Adrienne to do her thing. Thirty seconds later and they had not moved, she peaked one eye open to check on her. Adrienne was glued to the spot.  
"What is it?" Bonnie asked. Emilia only then noticed what Adrienne had and stood up straighter.  
"Take me out there." Bonnie looked at Adrienne and was answered with a nod, they helped hobble her out as all three of them heard Erik's voice getting louder.

"The real enemy is out there," they entered halfway through his speech and stood behind Moira and Charles. All three noticed Shaw's dead body slumped on the floor behind him. "I feel their guns moving in the water, their metal targeting us. Americans, Soviets, humans." His voice turned bitter and she felt his eyes fall on her sister.

"Get back inside." She whispered. Bonnie did not move. "We're not safe with him. Get everything we need, we're leaving." Hesitantly, she left her sister. Adrienne quickly shuffled them forwards as he carried on.

"United in their fear of the unknown. The Neanderthal is running scared, my fellow mutants!" They were five steps behind Charles and Erik when Emilia made Adrienne stop. She clutched on as she felt a certain feeling in her gut.  
"Go ahead, Charles." Both men walked forwards in the direction of the ships. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"What's the matter?" Adrienne shook her gently as her nails begun to dig into her.  
"They're going to blow us up," Emilia whispered as she felt their guns beginning to focus on the beach.  
"I can't get everyone off the beach in time." Adrienne whispered back, her face had become pale. "We have to leave now if you don't want to be blown up." Emilia's eyes fell on Charles as he realised what was happening. Adrienne noticed where Emilia was staring. "Please don't pull the _'Not without him'_ thing again."

Moira ran back towards the Jet and Adrienne helped Emilia limp to Charles. When he noticed she was near him, he reached out and helped support her weight.  
"You're not supposed to be here." She ignored his comment and got straight to the point.  
"Adrienne can't get everyone off the beach in time,"  
"What if we all held onto each other when you teleport?" She shook her head.  
"I've never tried that many people before."  
"There are more than fifteen of us if we're counting Shaw's people." She wondered how much of a strain it would put on Adrienne if she did that all at once. By then it was too late, hundreds of bangs hit the air and she knew they were all coming towards them.

The missiles came soaring towards them, leaving streaks behind them marking their entrance. Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest as she realised what was going to happen. Her thoughts went to Bonnie. "Adrienne, get my sister and go," when she got no response, she turned and nudged her. "Adrienne, go!" Her mouth was hung open in shock as she seemed to not hear anything Emilia was saying. She stayed glued to the spot and her eyes stuck on what was coming towards them.

As they came closer, Emilia held onto Charles and Adrienne's hands tightly. That was until Erik raised his own hand. The missiles halted and she felt herself give out a nervous laugh. _We're not going to die, _she screamed internally, _we're not going to die! _Then, his hand slowly turned and so did the missiles. They turned away from them and pointed back to the direction of where they came from. Her smile faded once she realised that he had pointed them to the direction of the ships before them.

"Erik, you said yourself, we're the better men." She watched Erik closely as Charles attempted to reason with him. "This is the time to prove it." The missiles kept turning one by one, ignoring Charles' words. "There are thousands of men on those ships, good, honest, innocent men!" Erik refused to look at him. "They're just following orders."  
"I've been at the mercy of men just following orders," only then did he look at Charles. "Never again." He turned back to the missiles and then gave the order with his hand. They all shot off, racing back to where they had been launched only seconds ago.

"Erik, release them!" Charles yelled and for a second he believed that Erik actually had. All of them froze midair, then they slowly began to fall, tumbling down one after another. Charles looked at Erik in hope that he had changed his mind, but found him glaring behind him. He turned to find Emilia with her arm outstretched towards the air. He watched as she let go of them and waited for them to sink. However, they were up again as Erik refocused. Emilia struggled to stop them from moving as Erik urged them to strike.

"We're on the same side." She frowned at his words and spoke through gritted teeth.  
"No we're not." He shot a look at her.  
"You and I, on the sub." Her heart sunk in her chest as she realised what he meant. She urged Adrienne to help her over to him and tried to not lose her concentration on the missiles.  
"I did what I had to do to distract you." She spoke only above a whisper, not wanting anyone else to know about the kiss. "I did it for my sister, it meant nothing to me, Erik." She couldn't read his thoughts or emotions because of the helmet he wore, but felt a sudden urge from the missiles. She gasped as she felt herself straining against him.

"Let go," he growled. "Don't make me hurt you."  
"You don't scare me!" She bit back.

At that moment her sister came. In the middle of packing everything they might need, she stumbled upon a small metal box holding a syringe. She had come rushing out towards them with it raised high.  
"Do you think we'll need this? We're running out of room-" She stopped when she noticed the missiles above them. Emilia ignored her and carried on with Erik.

"You need to stop!" She warned him. However, he had noticed what Bonnie held in her hand. His right reached out and it flew into his palm.  
"Try stop me now." She felt a sharp pain in her neck before she realised what happened. It fell to the ground after it injected the serum, her hand cradled where it had attacked her. Nothing happened at first, she held on tighter to Adrienne and her mouth fell into an 'O' shape. Then, a searing pain came to her head and she fell to the ground taking Adrienne with her.

Someone shouted after her but she only heard Hank yell as a radiating heat spread through her body.

_"It doesn't attack the cells, Erik, it enhances them!"_

_Her body's on fire. _Or at least she thinks it is.

When she looked over to Erik he was tackled to the ground by Charles. She whimpered in fear that they would beat the living shit out of each other when Erik's fist collided with Charles' face.

Someone began speaking to her again as she felt her eyes begin to close, it might be Adrienne, she begged her to keep her eyes open. She opened them again at her request and searched for the missiles, wondering if she had stopped Erik setting them off while he was in his rampage.

She was in agony. Her head felt as if it was being smashed over and over again by a rock. Sudden pains came to her chest, making it harder for her to breathe as they came out in short laboured rasps. When her hand reached her brow, a thin veil of sweat decided to great her, she then realised that her entire body was covered in a layer of it. Random visions entered her mind, they came fast and attacked her one by one.  
She saw her future self and watched as she killed, cried and died. Then she saw everyone else, killing, crying and dying too. _What's happening to me?_ There were so many people she was seeing, so many people who were in need of their help. Another jolt of pain tore through her and her body began to spasm in response. Then she saw a gun, someone pulling the trigger and then Charles, being hit and crashing down. Adrienne's arms held her down as she stopped jerking beneath her, Emilia dug her nails deep into her suited arms as it passed.

"He's going to kill him." She cried out to her. "You've got to stop him, Eriks going to kill him." Adrienne looked down in pity and turned to Hank, begging for help.

Then it stopped.  
Just as Emilia thought it was finished, just as the pain ended and just as the voices in her head are silenced, something snapped. Her hands yanked violently at her own hair. She cried out and started to wither on the floor. Apart from Erik, everyone's thoughts and feelings were in her head, including some of those on the ship. She wasn't even trying and she did it without struggle. It came to her that she could make every single person on the beach go insane with her if she felt like it. _If I'm going down I might as well drag them with me._

_'It enhances the cells' _she could feel it already. She had always been the weakest, never being able to fully grasp others gifts, always suffering whenever she used them. Maybe now she could become more powerful than all of them. Or, maybe Hank was wrong, maybe it only enhanced his cells not hers. Maybe Erik got what he wanted, maybe it would kill her, maybe she should die.

She heard even more shouting. _Stop it! _She wanted to scream as everyone's thoughts became louder._ Stop it, it hurts! _In those moments she had seen the future, what lay ahead of them. In the distant future she would become a weapon. Not against humans, but against her own kind. _Her family._

Someone shouted again. Then bullets were fired. As the bullet pierced his skin, her mouth opened.

And then she started to scream.

They screamed in unison. When she stopped she struggled to get up and fought with the woman holding her down.  
"Let me go," she began hitting Adrienne. "I need to see him, let me go!" When she released her, Emilia attempted to get up but only reached her knees before a wave of dizziness hit her and she fell back down. She felt Adrienne's arm wrap around her waist, holding her back. When she looked over to him, she saw Erik holding him.

"I want you by my side. We're brothers, you and I. All of us together, protecting each other. We want the same thing."  
"My friend, I'm sorry, but we do not." Emilia stared at them, waiting in anticipation for Erik's next move. Eventually, he tore his eyes away and motioned for Moira to come to them. She attempted to leave Adrienne again and get there before Moira did, but her hold was too strong. Moira uttered out apologies for what had happened and rested his head on her lap. Erik turned his back on them and faced the others who had been watching the entire thing.  
"This society won't accept us, we form our own." His hand pointed out towards the ships. "The humans have played their hand now we get ready to play ours. Who's with me?" Nearly everyone turned away from him or refused to catch his eye.  
Everyone but Raven.  
"No more hiding." His hand reached out directly to her. _No_, she cried out silently as she watched Raven limp forward, _no not you_. She had given up fighting Adrienne and had now fallen back against her, head rested in the crook of Adrienne's neck as her hands gently combed through Emilia's hair.

Although Raven went over to Charles not Erik, Emilia knew she had made her choice. She closed her eyes and waited until she felt Adrienne nudge her. When she opened them, a pair of yellow eyes stared back at her.

"Your hair." Was the first thing Raven said. She looked down and found that her brunette locks had gone, instead white took its place.  
"I thought you'd ask how I was." She replied, unfazed by the colour.  
"How are you?"  
"Not good." Emilia then cradled Raven's hands with her own gloved ones.

"Don't leave," was the first thing she said. "I don't care what Charles said, just don't leave us, don't leave me."  
"I have to, don't you see?"  
"No, I'm afraid I don't." They said nothing for a few seconds until Raven spoke up again.

"We never spoke about what happened, with the 'thing'." If her skin allowed it then Raven might have had a hint of a blush. Memories of the kiss came back to Emilia and she gave Raven's hands a small squeeze.  
"Some things are best left unsaid." A mix of emotions hit Raven and all of them confused her. She spoke with a bitter tone.  
"If that's how you see it." She left Emilia in the sand and went to Eriks side. Soon, they were joined by Shaw's people and they were all ready to leave.

"And, Beast," Raven called out as they all stood hand in hand. "Never forget: Mutant and proud!" She turned her head away at her words, remembering how they had mocked that woman back in Oxford for saying the exact same thing. Then they vanished, all of them. Those who remained ran over to Charles, making sure he was alright. She went to join them and made Adrienne help her up. They began to hobble over to them, her sister swiftly came over to her left side.

She heard Hank telling Charles not to move when she had to stop. She felt faint and the pain in her head began to pulse. Her leg throbbed and when she touched the wound she realised it hadn't stopped bleeding. Adrienne looked down and noticed it as well.  
"_Shit,_" she said and readjusted her hold on Emilia. "We're taking you to a hospital, now!"  
"Take Charles with you." Moira called out when she overheard what was said. But then everything that they said next was a blur, for Emilia only became focused on what came out of Charles' mouth.

"I can't feel my legs." Her head began to spin and her breathing became out of control again. Her sisters face came into view and she was saying something but Emilia couldn't hear anything but the same words repeating over and over again.  
"I can't feel my legs."

She felt herself going down as her legs buckled, then the beach crashed around her in a colourful blur.

* * *

**Y/N: I saw Mockingjay part 2 and I was emotionally unprepared. So the next chapter will be the last one and then Days of Future Past begins. I might go over this when I've got the time and edit everything I'm unhappy with. I'm not happy with Julien and Adrienne's last names so it's now 'Costello' instead of 'Williams' as I thought Costello suited them more.**

**So what did you think of this chapter? Are you happy with what happened or not? _(Did anyone notice the things I added in at the end with prologue?)_**

**Poor Emilia.**

**Anyway, I hope you like and review what you want to see in DOFP!**

**THANK YOU TO THE REVIEWS I'VE BEEN GETTING RECENTLY, THEY'VE MOTIVATED ME SO MUCH TO ACTUALLY UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER. ****Thank you to everyone who has faved and followed, you're all precious!**

**I'm going to get started on the next chapter and creating the poster art for the next story right now!**

**_Replies to Reviews:_**

_badkitty98 - Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this one_

_Guest - I sort of saved her! _

_xxyangxx2006 - I really like your theory about the metal man, I guess we'll just have to wait until she meets Logan ;)_


	16. Hope

**Chapter 16 - Hope**

**'Don't belong to no city**  
**Don't belong to no man**  
**I'm the violence in the pouring rain**  
**I'm a hurricane'  
**-  
Halsey, Hurricane

* * *

**-o-**

_'You don't have to stay.'_  
_'If you didn't just blink I would've sworn you were dead, that's how sick you're looking.'  
'I'm only trying to help and right now I think I have a much better idea of what you need than you do'  
'How long has that been bleeding?'_  
_'You've got a high fever…'  
'I'm pretty sure I'm going to need stitches.'_  
_'I can't feel my legs.'_

Her eyes fluttered open to a bright room. Voices swirled in and out of her head as a machine to the side of her pinged to the steady rhythm of her heart. She didn't know where she was and couldn't remember why she was there. Emilia tried to push herself up, but a sharp pain in her right arm restrained her. She looked down and saw an IV tugging at the skin of her forearm. Everything was unfamiliar and the machine began beeping more rapidly.

_Where am I?_

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty finally woke up." Julien sat in a chair next to her bed. "It took you long enough."  
"Where am I?" The machine went back to a steady pace at the familiar face.  
"You're in the hospital, you've been here for a couple of days now." Her eyes landed on his hand, or, what was left of it.  
"How is it?" He looked away and shrugged.  
"As good as it can be." He quickly changed the conversation. "They had to dose you up a bit as well."  
"Why?" She asked.  
"Probably because you wouldn't stop shouting last time."

"What?" Her eyebrows furrowed at him.  
"You don't remember?" She shook her head. "This is the third time you've woken up Em'." She thought back to what he said before.  
"Why would I be shouting?" He shrugged.  
"Charles and Hank think it's because of the serum." There was a packet of grapes by the side of her, he reached forward toward the small table and grabbed two ripe ones.  
"What?"  
"They'll explain it all after."

A curtain separated them from the rest of the ward. As she came to her senses she noticed a 'Get Well Soon' balloon at the end of her bed.  
"From your sister." Julien explained.  
"Where are they?" She asked. "Where's Charles and Hank?"  
"Hank's back at the mansion as he can't be seen around here now that he's blue and furry and Charles," he seemed to freeze up, as if he didn't want to speak anymore. "He's... on a different ward."  
"Is he alright?" He fidgeted under her stare. "Julien?" There was no answer for a couple of seconds before he sighed.  
"He's paralysed," he explained. "He won't walk again."

Slowly, her head went back down to her pillow. The fluorescent light glared down at her, burning her eyes that challenged it. She noticed the footsteps marching past them and felt more and more voices pooling in. Her hand reached up and rubbed her head as an ache tore through it as people's thoughts became louder.  
"I know," she eventually replied. "I saw it in a dream."

She had dreamed of sunlight on the Cuban beach, she had dreamed of a red door at the end of it. It was the same door Emilia had grown up in and she ran toward it. She had thrown open the door and found strangers wearing masks. _This isn't my home, _she had thought when they all stared at her like SHE was the stranger.  
_'It never was,'_ replied a voice. _'It was wrong to leave them, it was wrong to abandon them.'  
'But it was right to live, it was right to fly.' _She had argued.

Yes, she had known. She had known when she woke up the first time to her sister weeping. In fact, she had known before she woke. Memories of Moira shooting a gun came back and Charles accidentally becoming the victim burned into her eyes. _Survivor,_ she corrected herself,_ not a victim. _Most women would cry, and she was reminded of that from the crying coming from the ward around her. But her eyes were dry, her face emotionless.

She rolled onto her side, her elbow supporting her weight. The blanket tangled around her legs and she gasped at the deep ache in her thigh.  
"It'll hurt more when the painkillers wear off."  
"Great." She said through her teeth.

Her sister came in and was startled at the sight in front of her.  
"You're awake?"  
"Unfortunately." Bonnie ignored her and glared at Julien.  
"And you didn't think of telling a nurse?" He reached for the packet of fruit next to him.  
"Grape?" He offered. She huffed and span away.

"How are you even in here?" She asked. "I thought it was family only?"  
"Oh, it is." He winked at her as he threw a grape into the air and caught it. "I lied to get in, I told them I was your brother and your sister vouched for me."  
"Well, welcome to the family of bad hair decisions and disappointment." She sighed as Bonnie came back with a nurse behind her.

She was young, Emilia guessed that she was the same age as Bonnie. The brunette had cupid bow lips that were painted red and her hair was tightly curled against her head. She came over to Emilia, but was then distracted by their friend who sat near her. Her eyes trailed up Julien's body in awe and Emilia wanted to tease Julien for having an admirer until the nurse's eyes landed on his hand. Her face visibly repulsed from it hurried over to Emilia. She asked mandatory questions like how she was feeling so forth, and redressed the wound.  
They had all thought she was done after she had finished, but then she began to press down on Emilia's abdomen. When she was satisfied, she pursed her lips and frowned down at Emilia before leaving.

"What was that about?" Emilia asked when she was gone.  
"We had to tell them about your... situation." Julien confessed. She shuffled in the bed.  
"I was talking about the looks she gave me." She mumbled.  
"They're probably because you're pregnant and not married." Bonnie hushed Julien while Emilia smirked at him.

"I thought it was because I exude confidence and enjoy sex."  
"Emilia!" Her sister cried out.  
"Oh, don't worry Bonnie we're all friends here," Julien joined in. "I too exude confidence and enjoy sex."

Bonnie's face blushed red and left them giggling on their own.

**-o-**

They let her go three days later. Bonnie had packed everything, she helped her change and was now doing her hair.  
"I hate it."  
"Thanks." Emilia replied dryly. She heard her sister huff behind her and felt a soft tug.  
"Why blonde?"  
"Why ginger?" She asked as her sister finished the braid in her hair.  
"I'm naturally ginger, you're not naturally blonde." Emilia turned, her sister frowned down at her. "You look... strange."  
"What are you talking about?" Said a voice as a flash of insecurity shot through her. They both turned to find Julien and Adrienne by the hospital bed. "She looks good. In fact, Adrienne who do you think is the hotter blonde: Emilia, Alex or me?"  
"Emilia." She answered with a smile. Emilia returned it with one of her own and left the bed with her crutches to join them.

Adrienne then held out a pair of gloves.  
"Hanks orders." They steadyed her as she let go of her crutches to put them on.  
"You ready?" He asked. She gave a nod and hobbled after them while Bonnie followed with their things. They walked slowly to make sure she was alright on her crutches, Adrienne kept a hand on her back whenever she stumbled. Soon they were in an empty corridor and were told to hold onto each other. Everything then went black and something tightened around her chest, then they were in a familiar room.

"Emilia!" Hank called out, then he motioned with a blue paw for her to sit.  
He explained everything. The serum that was created for her enhanced her cells, like it did with his, causing her mutation to freak out. Now, instead of stopping her from absorbing others mutations, it allowed her to take in even more. In Hank's words, the serum had 'improved' her mutation, for her it had made her stronger and she could now absorb people's physical mutations, like Raven and Azazel's skin, which she couldn't before.

She smiled through her teeth, thinking about how it was more of a burden.

"My hair?" She asked.  
"It's a side effect of the serum, it's permanent."

She heard a tut come from her sister and glanced to find her flicking through a hair magazine, trying to find a similar colour dye to match the way it used to be.

**-o-**

Maisie was curled up against her chest as they sat outside. She held on tightly to Emilia's gloved finger and gurgled gibberish while they watched the boys play with a football. She'd spent the last few days outside as much as she could, glad to be free from the claustrophobic hospital ward they had kept her in. She now had gloves specially designed for her by Hank. They kept her arms warm and kept everyone safe so she couldn't complain. It dawned on her that the only person she could touch in the mansion without gloves was Charles as he had already been touched a long time ago. A hole seemed to take the place in her heart where Raven once was.

Maisie seemed to sense her distress and started to gnaw on her gloved finger.  
"You're not helping at all, you know that don't you?" Amethyst eyes widened up at her. "Infact, what you're doing is cannibalism and that's illegal in many countries." Drool now covered her glove and the child giggled in response. "At least _you_ find my jokes funny." Soon Adrienne and Julien came over to them and Emilia handed their child back to them.

"Thanks again by the way." Julien held his daughter close as she squealed in his arms. "I know you don't particularly like holding other people's children."  
"It's okay," she gave a small smile. "I guess I have to get the practise in." A small bump was visible through the green dress she wore. Now that everybody knew about the baby there was no reason to hide it. Sean's response was the best, his mouth had dropped open and his eyes had bulged.  
_"You're pregnant?! How?"_ A repulsed had look come on his face. _"No, no, no, wait, don't tell me how it happened, I don't want to know."_ The next day he stared at her with a frown. _"__Before today I never thought of you two doing 'it' at all... It was a much simpler time."_ She had then proceeded to hit him with a hardback book.

"She's getting prettier day by day." Emilia commented. Julien and Adrienne looked at each other.  
"Well, with us as her parents, she's bound to be the prettiest girl."  
"The kind of girl that has all the boys running after her?" Emilia teased.  
"Okay then, when she grows up she'll become a nun." Julien declared. Adrienne and Emilia rolled their eyes at him and noticed Charles and Moira making their way through the grounds.

"Are you alright, after with what happened with Bonnie?" She turned back to them and found them looking on her with sympathy. Her sister had left that morning, insisting that her stay had been too long and that she needed to go home, that they _both_ needed to go home.  
_"We all miss you Emmy, all of us!"_  
_"Then how come you never returned any of my phone calls?" _It had turned into an argument fast, everyone had kept clear of the first floor in fear of disturbing them. Bonnie had begged her to come back, saying that Emilia 'no longer had to be alone'. She had argued back saying that everyone right here was her family and she wasn't alone. Her sister had froze. _"I mean your real family" _She argued that their mother was miserable without her eldest daughter and called Emilia 'stubborn' and too 'blind' to see that her mother loved her.

She left thirty minutes after, promising Emilia that they'd visit when she realised that her sister wouldn't leave with her. "Mam will faint when she sees how big this place is." Emilia had faked a smile and held her close, she had no intention of seeing her mother again.

"I'll be fine." She noticed Adrienne give a look to her husband. "What's wrong?"  
"Oh, nothing. It's just, well..." Her southern accent came out stronger as she looked to Julien for help.  
"We were wondering if you'd want to be Maisie's Godmother?" Her eyes widened at his words.  
"But we haven't known each other for that long." Julien scratched the back of his neck.  
"I know, but all of Adrienne's family are gone and I don't speak to my folks back home. Considering what we've all been through recently, we thought that maybe you'd want-"  
"Yes, I will," she smiled cutting him off. "If that's what you want." They looked back over and watched Moira walk away in a trance-like state.

"It's a shame," Adrienne announced. "I'll miss her."  
"I will too." She responded.  
"Did you know she liked him? Y'know, in _that_ way."  
"Of course I did, it was obvious."  
"I thought she was into me." Adrienne raised an eyebrow at her husband.  
"You think everyone is into you."

She left with her crutches as the couple began to bicker over something and joined Charles.  
"I'll miss her."  
"So will I," he held onto her hand and stroked his thumb over it. "How are you today?"  
"Apart from throwing my guts up this morning because our child decided to be an ass, I'm good." He chuckled at her words.  
"Well I apologise on behalf of our child." His hand reached out and traced over the bump, a playful grin came on his face as he looked up at her. "Boy or Girl? Which do you think?"  
"Boy." She answered with a grin that matched his.  
"Have you seen?" He asked. She bit her lip.  
"No," she had been trying to keep away from her visions, not liking the effect they had on her physically. "I just know."

They watched as Julien and Adrienne walked by them and she remembered one of the first things Adrienne had told her.  
_"I sense a darkness in you." _ If what she had said was true, then Emilia needed light. She needed hope that without Raven and Bonnie her life would still go on. Instead of Erik's rage she needed serenity to level out what went on inside her head. And that no matter how bad the world could get there was still some hope in it. There was only one person who could give her that.  
She held onto his hand tighter.

She looked up at the future school and found something to believe in. _Home,_ she thought sweetly. She'd finally found it, a place where she was actually wanted.

_Yes,_ she grinned to herself,_ this is how it feels to have a home._

* * *

**A/N: It's the end of First Class... :(  
****Now onto Days of Future Past :)**

**Sorry for taking a while, this site keeps fucking up whenever I try to save (literally spent an hour and it didn't save i wanted to kill).**

_Okay, so what did you think of this chapter? I hope you liked it (Julien's lines always make me smile sorry if they aren't funny haaha). What are your predictions for DoFP? What do you think Logan will find when he goes back?_

**_Reviews:  
_**Eala Bhan - Thank you thank you thank you! I'm glad that you were hooked and I can't wait to see what you think of Dofp! I felt my self freaking out during the sewer scene because I knew the whole 'nightlock, nightlock, nightlock' scene was gonna happen. And the cat scene omg. **_  
_**

**FOLLOW MY PROFILE TO BE UPDATED WHEN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT IS OUT! **_(I'd say roughly a few hours)_

_**Thank you to every reader, new or old, who has stuck with this story even though it took over a year to finish! I love you all!xx **_


	17. Authors Note: Sequel Days of Future Past

Hey! Just adding this authors note as a message to everyone who has recently favourited, followed and reviewed. There is a sequel to this story called 'The Beginning of Mrs X: Days of Future Past'. It's on my profile for you to read and has been up for a while! Just writing this because I know that some people have commented and messaged asking why I've stopped updating, I haven't, the story is a continuation of this one! :)

Happy reading, Pukka! :) x


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